New Beginnings
by MYSTIC1
Summary: The original Ronins died, became Armor Spirits, and for six years mentored a new generation. However, they suddenly find themselves thrown out of the spirit world and must cope with a new Japan, their heirs, and the unknown sorcerer who revived them.
1. Chapter 1

Reiji Date awoke with a start, thinking about the armor spirits. He had been dreaming about them, especially about his great-grandfather Sage, but he couldn't recall the exact nature of the dream. That he couldn't remember about someone and something so important was by itself disconcerting. He turned his head toward the mirror and stared at his reflection. Both eyes were a clear blue like Sage's. However, Reiji's right eyelid, lacking the normal amount of muscles, drooped down over the right eye and almost gave him a one-eyed appearance. His hair needed a trim since it hung close to his shoulders. His smooth pale complexion was also like Sage's. Reiji frowned, hoping his reflection would have resurrected a memory of the dream. There was something about the armor spirits. Were they in danger? Were they trying to contact him about a new threat?

He turned to the other side of the bed where his nightstand was and placed his fingertips on the electronic trinket box. It made a static sound before the lid flung open, revealing the new Halo armor orb resting on a small pillow. Reiji clasped the orb in both hands and, closing his eyes, held it to his forehead as in a prayer.

~ Sage? ~ he called out in the spirit world. ~ Sage? ~ He saw the sakura petals flying in the breeze. Reiji smiled. He was at the right place, the area of the spirit world where the armor spirits resided. The sakura tree, always in bloom, hadn't been hurt. Expecting to see Sage appear, he approached the five tombstones in front of the tree.

However, the tombstones lacked their dignified beauty, and the engravings appeared indistinct.

~ Sage? ~ he called out again but received no reply. ~ Sage? ~

The tombstones faded, and the wind picked up, departing from the sacred resting ground.

**********

Reiji immediately phoned the Ronin he knew would be awake – Kento of Hardrock II. "Have you sensed anything about the armor spirits?"

"Nope, but I haven't checked in the spirit world, either."

"I had a disturbing dream."

Kento spoke before Reiji could continue, "Maybe you're stressing. We've been warriors for six years now, so we can expect to stress after this time. Plus, stress happens. Relax."

"No, it's not stress. I went to their graves, and something is happening to them. Sage didn't appear, and the tombstones are fading."

Kento-kun sighed irritably. "Alright, I'll check and see if Kento-sama's there. Call the others."

*************

Reiji attached the additional phone speakers to the main phone base for the warriors to talk to each other as a group. He proceeded to call each Ronin on each speaker. Aiden Sanada, Seito Mouri, and Toriyama Hashiba. Aiden and Seito had just woken up. Tori had been awake for a few hours. All had the same vague dream and the same experience in the spirit world.

"What could this mean?" Aiden wondered. "Are they in danger?"

"I don't know," Reiji replied. "They might be."

Tori said, "We should probably go somewhere. When I woke up, I had a strong feeling that something important is going to happen in a certain place. I think I've seen it before in Rowen's memoirs, so I am looking through it right now."

Reiji nodded. "That's good."

While Tori was flipping through the old book, Seito Mouri asked, "If the armor spirits are in danger, how could we help them? We haven't had much experience with the spirit world."

"I don't know."

The Ronins then remained silent, waiting for Tori to figure out where they were supposed to go. Then, the second Ronin of Strata exclaimed, "Ah! I've found it. There's a hotel in Shinjuku. It was built right during their time. There's a Ronin ghost story about it too."

************

Kento Rei Faun the Second stared up at roof of the hotel and listened to Tori Hashiba talk about the ghost story while waiting for Seito Mouri, the last one to arrive. In 1991, people heard a girl weeping and whoever went to the top floor saw armored demons fighting. The armors were responding to whatever presence still dwelled on top. There was no doubt that the current warriors were at the right place.

"According to the story," Toriyama said, "and this is one of many, the Ronin Warriors emerged out of the top floor from a dimension parallel to ours. Then, depending on which story exactly, they either killed the demons and rescued the little girl or the little girl turned out to be a demon. Another story says the girl was a distraught spirit who they simply guided."

Kento crossed his arms. The myth about the Ronin Warriors dwelling in an alternate world and entering the human world only for its salvation was fortunately commonly-accepted. If everyone knew the Ronins lived in the human world, they would be in constant danger from those who desired power.

"I wish Seito would get here soon," Kento grumbled. "Hey, Tori?"

"Yeah?"

"In college, I'm taking a class about the Ronin legend, and there's a new edition of Rowen's last book. If you want, I could get you a copy."

"That's great! Thanks!" Tori grinned, his purple eyes lighting up. He collected all of the books that Rowen had published and also each edition, even though the new editions only had new forewards and the text wasn't changed. "Did you know that Rowen never actually finished his last book? After he died, his son Mateo took stuff from his notes and added –" He stopped abruptly, still grinning. Everyone knew Mateo was his grandfather and the whole history behind Rowen's books.

Reiji asked, "Do you think we will actually learn what happened here in 1991?"

"I don't know," Tori replied. "Maybe."

The remaining original Ronin Warriors had begun their memoirs in their late forties, after the death of Ryo Sanada. Not every battle and detail had been included in those books. Sometimes, they referred to events without giving the exact location. The main source of information pertaining to the early history of the Ronin Warriors came from the books that Mia Koji published, the first one in 1993. Even then, to protect herself and the original warriors, Mia had avoided certain pieces of information such as where the warriors lived or their family names. Her three books, 1993, 1995, and 1998, became incredibly popular and sparked the entire "Ronin Warrior" craze and interest in mythology over the following decades. Eventually, it became controversial college curriculum.

Hearing a motorbike, the current warriors turned toward the sound's direction. Seito was driving up, his brown ponytail waving in the air. He stopped the motorbike next to them. As Seito removed the helmet and stood up, Reiji noticed the words on Seito's sleeveless T-shirt, "Orange Glowing Fish."

The second Ronin of Torrent asked, "Is this the place?"

Aiden replied, "Yeah. We think there's something on top."

Seito nodded. He put his left hand in his leather jacket's pocket and held Torrent. If some dangerous threat was trying to attack the armor spirits, he needed to be ready.

***************

They reached the top floor. It bore an old dusty smell. Morning light came through the windows, revealing an isolated place inhabited only by cobwebs. The warriors walked further into the room and separated into different directions, forming a semi-circle, to find whatever brought them there.

Suddenly, their armor orbs pulsed, and in that instant, their thoughts were the same. They rushed to the stairway leading to the roof. Once upon the flat roof, they pulled out their armor orbs. Then, they felt something departing from the armors. They glanced at the orbs and then ahead where they saw five shapes, glowing the same colors as the armors.

The colors brightened in intensity for a few moments and then condensed inward, fading and changing. The warriors saw five human shapes which gradually became distinct as the glowing armor-colors began to disappear. What they saw shocked them.

"It's them," Reiji whispered.

The five original Ronin Warriors stood on the flat roof. The five backed away from each other unsteadily and tried to glance at their surroundings with unfocused disoriented stares. Then, all five collapsed on the floor.

The new warriors hurried to them and tried to wake them. Not a single one was conscious. The new warriors checked their pulses. Every one was healthy and alive.

"They're young!" Seito exclaimed. "They look younger than us!"

Then, the new warriors paused and noticed the old warriors' appearances. They did look younger, pre-college age in fact but late high school. They were also fully-dressed.

"Strange . . ." Kento-kun murmured.

Tori commented, "They're just sleeping."

Reiji and Seito surveyed the area from where they stood for any signs of danger or an indication of what brought the original warriors there.

Seito said, "Guys, we'll need to figure out what to do about them. They can't stay on the roof."

Kento-kun replied, "Well, we can't take them home with us. Can't we take them back to the spirit world, somehow?"

For a brief moment, everyone glared at the second Ronin of Hardrock. Take them back how?! Aiden of Wildfire said to Kento-kun, "That would be rather inappropriate."

Tori of Strata added, "They're here for a reason."

Reiji said, "We are at a hotel. We can get a room, and they can sleep there. We might be able to learn what happened once they wake up."

Aiden told Tori to get a room closest to the top and to only sign themselves in. Once that was done, Aiden, Kento-kun, Seito, and Reiji carried the sleeping warriors to their room while Tori pulled the extra blankets and pillows off the two beds and onto the floor to accommodate all the original warriors.

*********

In a state of shock and disbelief, the second set of warriors sat on the couch and stared at the first for a full fifteen minutes in silence.

Kento-kun spoke in a strained voice, "Toriyama . . . say something . . ."

"Like what?"

Kento nearly sprang up in a nervous fit. "Like why they're here! They're supposed to be dead! They were dead! Now, they're alive! They're alive and younger than us! You need to explain it!"

Tori's eyes froze, focusing thoughtfully on his own mental workings. He blinked and turned his head. "Well, I was thinking . . ."

"Yes?"

"We don't know the psychological impact this experience would have on them. As far as I know, this has never happened before to anyone. I'm not sure what to expect. Was everyone else thinking the same thing?"

Aiden and Seito nodded.

Reiji replied, "Like Kento, I am more concerned with why they are here and what brought them here, but your point is valid, Tori, and we should consider that first."

"Thanks."

**************

They resumed waiting in silence. The original warriors began mumbling and turning over. The new warriors approached them and listened, but they merely heard the semi-sensible ramblings of people in the midst of sleep.

Kento-kun grumbled, "I can't believe they're just sleeping!"

Aiden commented, "Whatever dreams they're having, they must be pretty intense."

Tori said, "I wonder if they're actually dreaming. Maybe their minds are actually coping with the physical world, and sleep is the best way for them to handle it."

Kento sighed, "Would you mind explaining that?"

"Well, it's like with babies. Babies go through some intense REM sleep. I've never known for adults to go through REM as extreme as they're going through right now. Their REM is much more intense than an infant's. Babies need a lot of sleep because all their brain functions aren't capable of dealing with the world, and sleep is when all their major brain functions begin to develop. Of course, babies also need active stimulation, but . . ." Tori stopped, realizing that he was starting to digress. "Anyway, I don't think their minds," he pointed at the original warriors, "are capable of dealing with the physical world just yet, but they aren't babies. They're adults or teenagers or." Tori shrugged. "That's why their REM sleep is so intense. Since they're adults, they have a lot of mental catching up to do."

The new warriors again resumed their silence while the originals continued to speak unconsciously and roll over. What the originals were saying began to sound coherent with normal grammar and sentence structure. They seemed to be having one-sided conversations with people. Tori wondered if they were voicing their memories. All of the names that the originals used and referred to in their speech came from their pasts.

The new warriors heard threats and challenges to the former warlords. "Dais," "Sekhmet," "Kale," and "Anubis." Neither of them had heard of Anubis before until they listened to Ryo. The new warriors also didn't know Lady Kayura was once a member of the ancient Dynasty under Talpa's rule until they listened to both Ryo and Rowen. Only then did the new warriors hear Ryo speak about Anubis in a less hostile tone.

Sometimes, the originals used simple youthful dialects that must have came from their childhood. They voiced a variety of memories. Conflicts amongst themselves, conversations with their wives from before and after marriage, lovers' quarrels, happy times goofing off with friends, jests and jokes, eulogies, anguish at finding a son dead, divorce proceedings and advice, remorse at not being a better father, wedding vows, when to have or not have children, chats which could only occur between a husband and wife under the covers.

Hearing all this certainly made the new warriors feel uncomfortable.

***************

Aiden suggested to Tori to call his wife Lena in case the new warriors needed to remain and look over the original warriors for the night. Once that was done, the originals awakened somewhat. Kento-sama and Sage simply opened their eyes and did nothing else. Sai tried to move around but merely twitched and fidgeted.

Unexpectedly, Ryo awoke enough to brace himself. He tried to sit but lurched to the side. His arms propped him up. He was shaky, wobbly, swaying. Aiden of Wildfire hurried to him. They stared into each other's eyes. What Aiden saw frightened him on behalf of his armor spirit. Ryo was not blind; he could see, but incomprehension clouded his eyes. He could not make sense of the information coming in.

A spiritual connection compelled Ryo to venture out his heir's name. Aiden guessed his armor spirit's worries, "It's okay, Ryo. You and your allies are safe. We are here to be certain of that."

Ryo smiled at his heir's reassurance. Knowing he and his friends were away from danger, he allowed himself to fall back on the floor.

Concern evident on his face, Aiden raised his head to look at Tori. Tori knelt on the floor along Rowen and held Rowen's hand. Something similar had transpired between the two bearers of Strata. Tori replied to Aiden's stare, "Whatever brought them back, they never expected it or planned on it." Rowen and Ryo tried to communicate, but their words came up as gibberish. Tori Hashiba had been correct; their minds and spirits were hurrying to adjust to the physical world. In five or ten minutes, all the originals had reentered the state of extreme REM.

*********

The time was 2:30 PM – over six hours since the originals left the spirit world. Tori and Seito decided to drive to a local convenient store and buy some food and drinks for the day.

"I suppose we'll have to call Kento 'Kento-kun' more often now," Seito said, putting on a white cap as he and Tori got off the motorcycle and approached the store.

Six years earlier, when the new warriors realized there were two people with both the name "Kento Rei Faun" and title "Kento of Hardrock," they decided to distinguish between the two by using different suffixes during their Ronin adventures. The first Kento became known as "Kento-sama" while the second became "Kento-kun." No one remembered why the second Kento obtained the suffix –kun, but it stuck.

Tori noticed the white cap and asked Seito, "Where did you get that?"

"Sai was wearing it when he appeared. It fell off, and I picked it up. It fits me perfectly, doesn't it?"

Tori nodded. "It's really amazing that Rowen's here. I never thought I'd actually see him."

"I never thought I'd meet Sai, either," Seito murmured as they walked through the aisles and scanned the shelves. Seito Mouri had prided himself on being the only one of the new warriors to have lived at the same time as one of the old warriors. In his wallet, he carried the sole picture of Sai and him together. Sai had been bedridden in the last year of his life. Seito's parents, grandparents, and great-grandmother often took him upstairs for the ailing warrior to see. In the picture, Sai watched a two-year-old Seito dressed in shirt polka-dotted with blue, red, and green fish and playing with colorfully-striped blocks. Sai died a few weeks after the picture was taken.

Sometimes, Seito wondered what memories he would have of his great-grandfather if the first warrior of Torrent hadn't given away a part of his life energy in a desperate attempt to defeat Anil's forces. Anil himself had caused the death of Ryo of Wildfire, and one of Anil's generals succeeded in killing the first Kento of Hardrock over a decade later. Rowen of Strata, Sage of Halo, and Sai of Torrent knew they couldn't win against that vile demon without their fallen comrades to support them. The three remaining warriors used their armor's powers to imprison the demon and wait until another generation of Ronin Warriors arrived with a bond as strong as the first.

**********

The remainder of the day continued in a less than exciting manner. Every few hours, the original Ronin Warriors would wake up, more coherent and capable than the last instance but still feeble. Their awareness would dissipate quickly, thrown into a fit of disorientation and nausea, and they would fall asleep again. The original Ronin Warriors had also lost their sense of time. The new set of warriors realized this when Ryo, able to look out the window, became alarmed and distressed at the sun's movement. Night and day, weeks and years, all sense of time was meaningless in the spirit world where an eternity could be the same as a moment. Time was a concept that the original Ronin Warriors needed to relearn, and this lack of awareness concerning time helped to explain their inability to cope with the physical world and their craving for sleep.

While the first set of warriors napped, the second chatted about their daily lives. Kento-kun had some essays to write, which he hadn't even studied for, so he and Tori conversed about those topics. From Tori's words, Kento-kun picked out a thesis sentence, several key points, and the supporting details. He wondered if Tori knew he was using him for his class assignments, and he also wondered if Tori would even care.

Aiden Sanada and Seito Mouri discussed politics, nature, and their families. They supported the same politicians. They loved nature conservation. And, they came from large families. Although the three branches of the Sanada family descended from Ryo were scattered across the globe, they remained in contact with each other. After receiving Wildfire, Aiden moved from his native home in Scotland to live with his cousins in Japan, the Hideosanadas. The Mouri family, on the other hand, remained settled mainly along the coast. Seito's grandfather Yoshio Mouri recently passed away, leaving Seito's father in charge of the family's large pottery, plant, and animal store chain. Sai had wanted to keep the family business small, but Yoshio had expanded it from two stores to seven. Seito's father wished to expand the business even more and discussed company policies with him. The new warrior of Torrent found himself with a bigger influence in the business.

Reiji Date remained silent for the majority of the evening. Whenever he did talk, it was usually in response to someone else's conversation.

Toriyama Hashiba was more than happy to inform everyone of all the awesome things he learned and all the books he bought. He planned to buy more shelves and redecorate his two library rooms to house more books. He spoke proudly of his wife Lena and their baby. He also rambled about his various freelance projects.

**********

After they discussed their families, the same question about the original warriors haunted them again.

"Why are they here?" Kento-kun wondered. "Why are they young again? They look about seventeen."

Tori replied, "I bet whatever brought them here has some important connection to them from when they were first seventeen. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"What year was it when they were first seventeen?"

Tori frowned thoughtfully. "Rowen was born in 1973… so he'd turn eighteen in 1991, but… he'd be seventeen for most of 1991 since his birthday's late." He glanced around the room and behind him. "That's the same time the ghost story here took place."


	2. Chapter 2

Sai awoke, clear consciousness coming to him like light pouring into a pitch-black room. He yawned, stretched, and smiled. Then, he noticed the nice smell of air, the feel of both soft blankets and coarse covers, and the way his muscles pulled and tensed with each movement. He remembered those sensations should now be forbidden to him. He sat straight up in bed. "What the –"

Sai blinked, acutely aware of the air and then moisture over his round eyes. " . . . Ryo?" He wanted to repeat that name again, not so much for the reaffirmation of the sight of his friend who had died thirty years before him, but for the strange vibrations in his throat when he spoke. "Ryo!"

"Hey, Sai." Ryo smiled. "We're all here."

Sai surveyed the room. Ryo, Rowen, Sage . . . he looked at the bed next to him and saw Kento munching on some chips. "You're right. We're all here, but –" He noticed five other young men sitting on a couch near the wall. "Seito?"

A tired young man in a leather jacket and a familiar white cap waved at him.

Sai glanced back at his friends and stared at them in amazement. They had been together in the spirit world, but seeing them in the physical world was a different matter. He knew who each of them were by sight, but placing a physical image to them now seemed bizarre. He recognized each of his friends but could not consciously recall how they looked. If he closed his eyes, he would not be able to visualize them mentally. "There's something unusual about our appearances, isn't there?"

One of the young men at the back, a burly man with indiscernible ethnicity, spoke up, "if you're referring to more than your presence here, you're right."

Sai frowned, wondering whose great-grandson that man was. He guessed that the small-boned and chubby man with purple hair and eyes was Toriyama Hashiba, and another of the young men had a strong resemblance to Ryo but with green eyes and a lighter hair color, so that man was probably Aiden Sanada. He knew Seito's appearance by instinct.

Ryo spoke up, "For some reason, we left the spirit world. None of us realized anything was happening. Fortunately, our great-grandsons sensed something," he glanced at them appreciatively, "and they cared for us while we were . . . recovering. They say we were in pretty bad shape when we first got here."

"Yes, I think I remember that, but . . ." He frowned, trying to recall how his friends looked when he last saw them alive. "Rowen's hair was different, and your hair was also different Ryo. Shorter and silv-" His eyes widened. "We haven't looked this way in a long time. Not since we were teenagers."

The man with purple hair and eyes said, "We figure you guys appear to be seventeen. I think whoever brought you here has some connection to your past from when you were originally seventeen."

Ryo frowned, "I'm not sure who." He glanced at his friends; they also didn't know. All had bewildered expressions.

Rowen said, "This is probably due to our condition last night and shifting from one world to another. We remember events, and we know the dates. However, we cannot fit each event with when it happened. The events and dates seem disconnected from each other."

The purple-haired man replied, "Well, you did just wake up. Maybe you'll think of who later when you're feeling better. Your awareness of time might still need to adjust to this world."

Kento waved the empty chip bag. "Hey, is there a restaurant near here? I'm starving."

That question made the original warriors smile.

The new warriors glanced at each other nervously. The purple-haired man said to Seito, "Except for Sai, they have been awake for quite a while now. Sage has been up for twenty-five minutes, a lot longer than yesterday and last night. They're very coherent."

Seito spoke to the originals, "I hope you don't mind waiting another ten or twenty minutes. I want to make sure you guys don't have a relapse or something."

The five original warriors lowered their stares at the floor. Knowledge of their invalid condition frightened them. The entire room fell into an awkward silence. Kento finished off the crumbs in the chip bag. Enjoying the movements, Sai stood up and began to pace, switching from a slow walk to a light jog; in his last memories of the human world, he had been seventy-eight, so seventeen was quite thrilling. Sage closed his eyes, amazed at how he literally felt the passage of time. Rowen stretched.

The purple-haired man said, "It's very cool that you're here, Rowen."

"You're welcome, Tori."

Tori smiled.

Ryo spoke up to the new group, "Hey, guys? Could you please introduce yourselves? Aiden is the only one I recognize."

The new warriors did so. Sai was proven correct in his assumption. The one resembling Ryo was Aiden Sanada, and the purple-haired man was Toriyama Hashiba. Reiji Date didn't share many of Sage's physical traits, although Sai noticed a few of his grandfather's traits. The one with indiscernible ethnicity was Kento's namesake. Sai noticed a bit of his grandfather in his appearance as well. Jari Rei Faun had been adopted into the Rei Faun family from the United States. Jari had married a woman of Japanese ethnicity, and his son must have had married a woman of foreign descent for their son to have an unidentifiable heritage.

"How is Jari?" the first Kento wondered.

The second Kento fidgeted with his speech, "He's, um, -"

"Is the restaurant business okay?" When Kento-sama, the first Kento, left the mortal world, his family restaurant had been in financial trouble with stores closing down as crime increased in certain areas. Society had been shifting. Pleasant, peaceful neighborhoods became dangerous, and new neighborhoods were not yet built.

"Yes!" The second Kento was better able to talk to the first about the restaurant. "Older sister bought two new stores last year."

"Alright! Everything got better, then. Jari must be proud. You say you have an older sister?"

His namesake crossed his arms and turned his head away. Remembering his own grandfather's funeral just last year, Seito took an uneasy breath. Apparently, the original Ronin Warriors were not aware of the status of their families. Their families suffered because of their armors, Rei Faun being the most afflicted by the armors, and two families were trapped in the societal shift that turned good neighborhoods into dangerous neighborhoods.

The first Kento continued speaking, "Hey, has it been ten minutes yet? I'm still hungry."

Startled, his namesake swung his head over and stared at him. Seito said, "Yeah, I guess it's alright. There's a place to eat on the hotel's first floor."

"Hotel?" Kento surveyed the room. He noticed on his friends' expressions a flash of recognition. Something about being seventeen and at a hotel seemed to fit together.

His namesake asked, "You didn't realize you were at a hotel?"

"No, not really. Well, kinda."

**********

Aiden and Reiji exited the hotel room first to guide their great-grandfathers to the bottom floor. The old warriors then followed them. Kento-kun, Seito, and Tori walked behind the originals.

"Something's definitely clicking here," the first Kento said as they traveled down the elevator. His friends agreed. Something about being seventeen and at a certain hotel fit together.

The appearance of the other occupants in the elevator forced them into an uncomfortable silence. A black woman dressed in loose woolen clothes and wearing green feathers in her hair glanced at the old warriors and their gaping stares. A Japanese woman in her mid-twenties was dressed in thick leather shirt and shorts, which fortunately was more modestly-designed than the leather clothes the old warriors remembered. The sleeves came down to her elbows, and the legs on her shorts came down to her knees. However, the woman wore blood-red lipstick, and her hair was dyed the same color. A man of mixed ethnicity next to her was dressed in a similar fashion. His bald head was dotted with metallic beads and spikes.

The man noticed their gaping stares and stepped away from the woman as though to approach hostilely. "Do you have a problem with us?"

"No!" Ryo blurted out. "No, no. We don't have a problem. We just –"

The man scowled belligerently.

Aiden told the man, "They're from out of town. They're from a small village and aren't used to the sights around here."

The man put his hands into his jacket pockets and walked back to his girlfriend in disgust.

The original warriors glanced at their own clothes, a century out-of-date. They compared their outfits with those of their great-grandsons'. Aside from Seito's leather jacket, the clothes of the new warriors were made of two different materials. One material was brighter, smoother, and crisper in appearance like Seito's T-shirt; the other material was animal wool, such as the pants they wore and Aiden's shirt. Only Kento's namesake wore denim pants.

Once they entered the hotel's restaurant, Ryo felt lost and confused, following Aiden and Reiji obediently to a table. He surveyed the room. "Hey, guys? Are you sure we're in Japan?" he asked after they sat down. "I don't see many Japanese here."

The new warriors tensed in shock. Reiji and the second Kento glared at Ryo briefly in consternation while the others kept their stares at the table.

Sai spoke up, "Ryo . . ."

"Yeah?" Where were all the Japanese? He saw people from four different distinct ethnic groups and a few Japanese.

"Do you remember the immigration that occurred before you –" He let that sentence drop.

Ryo nodded. "It was mainly Indians and Chinese." 250 million Indians and 250 million Chinese - almost twice the population of the United States and due to troubles within their own countries, suddenly immigrated all over the world. The emigration enabled India to become a stronger first world country, but it caused significant problems for China.

"It was not only the Indians and the Chinese. It was everyone else - Africans, South Americans, Middle Easterners, Europeans; everyone immigrated."

Reiji glared at Ryo. "Japan has changed quite a lot since you were last here. Everyone here is Japanese."

"Yeah, it looks completely different."

Reiji's glare deepened, the color of his eyes reminding Ryo of whenever Sage was furious. Ryo felt chastised and scolded, but he didn't know for what. He decided to avoid the topic of immigration and picked up his menu.

There was little conversation as they selected their meals and then waited. Tori asked Rowen what he was ordering. Sai worried about Ryo, aware that because of the thirty-years difference between their deaths, some of the things he was now accustomed to were foreign to his friend. Even Kento would have some difficulty adjusting. Modern Japan might as well be a different country to them.

Sai frowned, wondering how much difficulty he would have despite being the last to leave the physical world. Using chopsticks distracted him for a moment. The renewed agility in his fingers amazed him. He clapped the two sticks together before eating. In his final years, he had almost been a complete invalid, dependent upon his wife and children for his most basic needs. Now, however . . . He lifted a piece of food into his mouth and again clapped the two chopsticks together as he chewed. No arthritis at all.

"Look at how he eats!" Kento's namesake grumbled, indicating the first Kento. "Do I eat that much or that fast?"

The new warriors shook their heads.

Tori wondered, "Do I eat that much?"

"No, you just eat a little of many different things."

Kento paused in his eating and pointed his chopsticks at his namesake to indicate whom he wanted to talk to as he finished chewing and swallowing. "Hey, what year is it?"

"2070."

"Then . . . the last year I remember is 2035, so I haven't had anything to eat in over thirty years! Gimme a break!"

His namesake appeared indignant as everyone else at the table began laughing.

"Don't worry about it," Kento said, noticing the younger's expression, "Your grandfather never could eat as much as me. He tried to, but never could."

After the laughter quieted, Sai asked, "Seito, how old are you?"

"Twenty-one."

Sai had nineteen years of changes to adjust to.

When Sage finished his breakfast – he had the least to eat -, he pushed his bowl away. "I am certain we remember Suzunagi."

"How can we forget her?" Kento wondered before shoving another large bite of food into his mouth.

"We met Suzunagi . . . at this hotel . . . when we were seventeen . . ."

Everyone quit eating.

"You're right," said Ryo. All the events and dates – what happened and when – now fit together. Their sense of time, which had been gradually healing over the course of their meal, was now complete.

Rowen inquired, "Were we wearing these exact same clothes when we met Suzunagi?"

Sai glanced at the familiar white cap which Seito was still wearing. "I think you're right. Do you think Suzunagi has something to do with our arrival?"

"I'm not certain. So far, she seems like the only person who could bring us here. Why else would we be the same age and wearing the same clothes as when we first met her?"

Then, they paused to explain to the new warriors who Suzunagi was and their connection with her. The new warriors had known their armors were not the ones which defeated Talpa and the Dynasty, but they didn't know the entire story behind the armors that their great-grandfathers received after defeating the two Inferno armors.

The new warriors listened to them with sentiments alternating between inspiration and consternation. After they finished their tale, Sai speculated, "I wonder if Suzunagi brought us here so that we could start over without having to fight. I know it seems strange, but we aren't the Ronin Warriors anymore. We really aren't. Maybe, after how we've helped her, she brought us back so that we could lead normal lives."

Kento's namesake crossed his arms and scowled.

Ryo said, "You're right. And it would be a nice thing for her to do."

The second Kento's scowl deepened.

Rowen said, "So far, it's the only thing that makes sense."

The second Kento exclaimed vehemently, "You're wrong! It's not practical. Why should she bring you back when she could just as easily bring her parents and herself back? It's what I'd do, and it's her parents' deaths which caused all her problems to begin with. It's not practical."

Sai tried to speak in a calming tone, "Sometimes the nice and generous thing to do isn't always practical."

This made the second Kento more furious, and he opened his mouth to speak, but fortunately Tori interrupted him, "Well, um, um, how – how would Suzunagi bring someone back to life? How would someone do that? I mean, she is already dead . . . how could a dead person bring other dead people back to life?"

"That is a good question," Rowen commented.

Tori smiled.

"But, there are plenty of things we don't understand like exactly how Suzunagi created the armors. The conversion between the spiritual and the physical is something I have not understood very well."

"Well, we can figure that out later. Can you talk to Suzunagi somehow?" Tori added with a shrug, "Maybe she still has a connection with the armors."

The original warriors glanced at each other.

Sage replied, "I doubt she retains a connection with the armors since you have not been aware of her existence. After all of your experiences with the armors, I believe you would be aware of her by now. Not even we have communicated with her after obtaining our new armors."

Kento's namesake, having calmed down, spoke up, "Why don't you guys go meditate on her or something just to make sure? If she does have something to do with you being here, then she should still be close by."

Sage stood up. "That might be the only way to be certain." He stretched out his hand, palm-open, to receive the Halo orb.

As Reiji handed him the armor orb, the second Kento wondered, "Sage is the only one of you who meditates?"

Ryo and Rowen followed Sage to the top floor where Rowen had met Suzunagi in the past.

********

Once three of the original warriors left, Reiji urged Kento-kun away from the table to an empty section nearby and proceeded to lecture him there. "I cannot believe you would be so disrespectful to our great-grandfathers! Our armor spirits! You were becoming hostile to them!"

"I really don't like the whole idea that they get a second chance."

"Were you listening to them?"

"Yeah. They get a second chance to live happy and carefree. I might drown in a pool of my own blood, and will I get a second chance? Prob'ly not. Is that just? No. Why should they get a second chance to be happy and not us? Will my entire family get a second chance? I'm sorry, but the whole idea goes against my sense of Justice, and Justice is the entire reason why I am a Ronin Warrior."

Kento-kun began to storm off, but Reiji stopped him by asking, "You have never been able to reconcile your past and the armors, have you?"

"Nope. Have you?"

Reiji refused to answer and let Kento-kun walk away. The original Ronin Warriors had been born in a better Japan, and the transition wouldn't be easy for them.

************

Rowen pointed to a set of windows. "That's where I met Suzunagi. She showed me a vision of the Ancient One breaking the seal on the Strata armor."

Sage walked over to the windows, turned his back to them, and sat down cross-legged. He placed his cupped hands, cradling the Halo orb, in his lap. He closed his eyes.

Rowen and Ryo waited. Ryo wished he had a watch with him. Rowen counted the seconds. They watched Sage meditate, his eyes sometimes twitching in concentration. After 3025 seconds, Sage opened his eyes.

"I cannot even sense Halo. Our connection with the armors has been severed."

*********

Not everyone finished their breakfast. A few of the warriors, both new and old, had lost their appetites. They returned to the hotel room the new warriors had rented to discuss the situation. The original warriors were seventeen again and now homeless, stuck in the mortal world

"We need to figure out a place for you to stay," said Seito.

The original warriors nodded.

"Toriyama Hashiba is the only one of us who has a house. The rest of us live in dorms and one-bedroom apartments. I've thought about calling Yamano-san, but-"

Ryo interrupted, "Yamano-san?"

"Yuli Yamano, but I figure the shock would be too big for him."

"Oh, god . . ." The last year Ryo remembered was 2021, leaving a fifty-years difference between the Yuli he knew and the Yuli currently living. "No, we can't stay with him."

Seito nodded. "He doesn't know any of what's happened in the past few days. Like I've said, Tori is the only one with a house. Four bedroom. Plenty of space. Are you fine with this, Tori?"

The second Ronin of Strata nodded, "yeah, but I'll have to call Lena. She doesn't really know what's happened either. I just told her that our current mission was taking longer than expected. I'm sure she'll agree."

Lena wouldn't have much of a choice.

Tori checked the clock on his cell phone. "She'll be getting out of class in a few minutes."

Kento-sama wondered, "What about the Koji mansion? We could stay over there, and it wouldn't bother you as much."

Aiden replied, "We haven't been in contact with the Koji family. We have no idea how well-versed they are in the Ronin legends anymore or how much they believe in our existence."

Tori walked away to talk on his cell phone.

Ryo asked the new warriors, "What can we expect in Tori's home?"

"Toriyama's married. Lena's his wife. They have a baby. I've never been there, but I hear it's a great place." Aiden glanced at Kento-kun.

The second Kento spoke up, "I'm the only one who's been to Tori's house. It's pretty much like Aiden says. It's nice and quiet. Peaceful." He lifted his hands in a little shrug. "Tori and Lena get along great. They have a basketball set, a couch and chairs, a table, a television, computer, books . . . oh, man, a lot of books . . . They only have one bed, but a lot of blankets and pillows for you guys. The house isn't cluttered. It's clean and easy to navigate. It's a great place. I always go there to relax."

Reiji suggested, "Perhaps we should also spend the night at the Hashiba residence in case anything else happens."

Seito nodded. "I'll go tell Tori."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: This is revised as of November 9th****, 2009. Please check my profile for other comments. Writing this has seriously given me some concerns, but I truly want to give the impression that the original warriors are in a Japan that is vastly different from the one they left with as much detail as possible. I am a history major in college, and it is amazing to learn and hear about how different my own country was fifty years ago and seventy years ago on topics from race relations to opium to technology, games, and communication to soda cans and carbonated beverages. Social interaction, acceptable behavior and family life was so completely different even within the same ethnicity during the 1950s and the 1930s.**

**************

"**You know, I'm looking forward to the next several weeks," Kento told his friends while the new generation discussed identification and transportation among themselves. "This is our chance to actually get to know our great-grandsons. I've always wanted to know my mine. I never imagined we'd be four years younger than them, though."**

**His friends chuckled and smiled, somber as well as happy. Aside from a few vague impressions between the spiritual and physical world, most of what they knew about their heirs came from the interactions with the armors. The new warriors had encountered more dangerous obstacles than their predecessors did in their first mission. Shortly after Kento's namesake inherited the armor, something jeopardized his life. Kento was only able to save him because of the recent connection with Hardrock. Had whatever happened occurred a year earlier, his great-grandson would have died. Nevertheless, the unknown event injured his namesake's sense of Justice and rendered him vulnerable to corruption. Somehow, the demon general that threatened the mortal world at the time reached Aiden before Ryo could and twisted Aiden's sense of Virtue, keeping the new warriors at each other's throats. If Ryo hadn't finally reached him near the final battle, the new warriors would have perished.**

**Then, Anil, the human-turned-demon who brought about the end of the original warriors, began to revive. Anil existed in a state between the mortal and nether worlds. Because of that, Kayura and the former warlords could watch over his stasis, but if he revived, they couldn't prevent him from entering the mortal world. Anil was powerful enough to hurt even Ryo's sense of Virtue, and the bond between the new warriors was still young; the other new warriors wouldn't have been able to help Aiden the way Rowen, Kento, Sai, and Sage had helped Ryo. Unfortunately, when the bond needed to be at its strongest, it faltered. Something happened which caused Seito to doubt his guiding virtue. He felt like a traitor and cast away Torrent. Unable to reach Seito, Sai managed to communicate with the former warlords and convinced them to help his heir. Whatever Sekhmet did to bring Seito back to his senses – it worked. The new warriors and the former warlords combined their powers and resealed Anil before he could revive completely.**

**There had been numerous battles in addition to those two, but the bond among the new warriors had never faltered during the other battles as in battles against the demon general and Anil. Although Kento's namesake and Tori could be considered friends, the bond between all five new warriors never went beyond comradeship into friendship. **

**Rowen frowned, surveying the train platform and listening to Sai and Sage. He didn't realize the train cars had been segregated according to ethnicity during his lifetime. 'Well,' he thought, 'that's what I get for not watching the news during my last few years. I was more interested in my grandson's education anyway. I wonder how Hajime's career is going. I bet he's the best in his field. I should ask Toriyama later what his college major is.'**

"**I had hoped the cars wouldn't be so divided by now," said Sai.**

**Sage replied, "It is for everyone's protection." Segregation was not new to Japanese society, anyway. In the 1990s and 2000s, the train cars had been segregated somewhat according to gender to protect women from sexual harassment. Indians, Middle Easterners, Europeans, North and South Americans from all the major religions immigrated and disbursed throughout the world. When they settled in Japan, they also brought over their old prejudices and grudges. This resulted in immigrant VS immigrant violence, which resulted in the Japanese hatefully resenting the foreigners, which resulted in segregated cars.**

"**I know, but –" Sai glanced at Kento's namesake. He would clearly have problems in this new Japan. Sai forced his eyes away. Over twenty years ago, he had demanded his son and grandson not to have the television on in his presence because the news always talked about the increasing violence.**

"**Hey, Aiden's coming," Ryo said, getting everyone's attention.**

**Aiden came and told them, "One of the security guards happens to be a Chikyuko worshipper. He said he will let us into the train cars without identification."**

"**What's Chikyuko?" Ryo asked as they followed his great-grandson to the ticket booth.**

**Sai answered, "It's a new age religion, although I don't quite see what's so new about their beliefs."**

**Seito added, "Chikyuko worshippers are big fans of the Sanada family. Aiden can ask them questions without their becoming suspicious."**

**Again, Ryo felt lost and confused. Why would anyone, especially a religious group, be a fan of his family? His family was strictly middle-class. His wife, Sayoko, would have been the most famous as a local reporter. His stepson Hikaru Hideo-Sanada had been working toward a law degree, wanting to become a prosecutor, but his entire family had been unimportant in Japanese society. His oldest child hadn't even graduated college, and his youngest hadn't graduated high school. Why would his family be significant enough for a religious group to take notice? He didn't know his family anymore.**

**Then, Ryo thought about his friends. He had listened to Sai and Sage talk about the foreigners and the train cars. He had seen their reactions toward their new environment. They did not display the shock that he felt. They were more accustomed and at-ease with their surroundings. They explained many things that he was ignorant of. Ryo didn't know his friends anymore, either.**

**Ryo took a deep breath and smiled. At least now, he would have an entire lifetime to get to know everyone all over again.**

"**Well, the space in these things haven't changed!" Kento gasped out as he and everyone else were sardined into the train car. "Geez… you'd think with all the improvements in technology by now, there'd be more room to move around."**

**Aiden replied, "wait until afternoon. A lot of the passengers will leave for work."**

"**Thanks. I don't know if I can handle the ride to Tori's house crammed in like this the whole time."**

**Once the train departed, they waited in friendly silence for several minutes. Suddenly, they heard someone yelling from among the crowd, "Gaijin, go home! Gaijin, go home!"**

"**What the –" Kento surveyed the crowd. Those remarks were directed at his great-grandson who the new warriors surrounded protectively. To let out anger, he sighed irritably. The new warriors were fine. "How can you guys handle living like this?"**

"**Hm? What?" asked Seito, the closest.**

"**How can you tolerate this?" If the car wasn't so crowded, Kento would have searched for the man and given him a strong lecture if not a good beating.**

**Seito replied, "Well, I usually take my motorcycle."**

"**What –" Then, he and Rowen noticed each other's expressions, realizing they had the same horrific thought. Kento's family, his wife and children, wouldn't have been able to survive in modern Japan. All but one of his children had been adopted, a few outside of Asia. They were raised in a time when foreigners were not as stigmatized as in today. The new warriors were accustomed to hearing racial slurs and remarks, so they no longer noticed those.**

**Rowen wondered if the new warriors were aware that they had surrounded Kento's namesake as though to protect him.**

**Sometime between an hour and two later, the passengers following their usual work commute got off the train car. Finally, both sets of warriors relaxed and stretched on the benches rather than standing. More passengers began to board the car, but fortunately, there were only a few.**

**Without warning, one of the new passengers threw a softdrink at Kento-kun. The cup was a type of paper or plastic, having come from a fastfood place, but it hit Kento-kun square in the face and the drink splashed over him.**

**Kento-sama immediately sprang up and approached the man. The new warriors urged him to sit down. Sai felt a complete sense of dread. He couldn't remember how much Kento's temper had cooled down during middle-age, and the new passenger might not be reasonable.**

"**Why did you throw that at him?" Kento asked, keeping his voice level.**

"**At who?" the man's curious reply sounded genuine.**

"**You know."**

**The man glanced at Kento-kun. "Oh, he's a gaijin."**

"**That doesn't matter."**

**The man, in a rather nice and polite manner, repeated, "He is a gaijin."**

**Reiji and Aiden lifted their voices, urging Kento-sama to return.**

"**That doesn't matter!" Kento almost screamed out. His shoulders tensed as though ready to grab the man and hit him. "Don't you think he deserves some dignity and respect as a human being? He is not a gaijin! He was born and raised in Japan, -"**

**The confused man began to back away, "Um, I don't have a problem with you."**

**Finally, Aiden and Reiji grabbed Kento-sama's attention. Kento-sama glanced at them and, frustrated, returned.**

"**How come you don't stand up for him?" Kento-sama demanded. "How come you didn't defend him?"**

**Sitting between Kento-kun and Aiden, Seito was helping Kento-kun to wipe off the spilled drink and to prevent a stain with the handkerchief Aiden gave him. "If he was in any danger, we would've defended him." Seito handed the handkerchief back to Aiden. "As it is, you're overreacting. None of those people who offended you were threatening. Maybe annoying, but certainly not threatening."**

**Kento noticed his namesake's withdrawn expression, seeming to cringe inwardly. Kento couldn't imagine what he had endured during his young life. "Are you alright?"**

"**Just shut up!"**

**Ryo softly asked Kento to sit down. He did.**

**Kento told his friends, "I just wanted to help."**

**Ryo nodded. "We know."**

**Kento sighed and looked at the new warriors. They were silent, ignoring his namesake. Perhaps that was best. Maybe his great-grandson needed solitude. Reiji glared at him. He hated how Reiji's eyes looked exactly like Sage's. "What's your problem?"**

"**I was merely thinking about you."**

"**And? Your thoughts?"**

"**You seem to have no respect or appreciation for modern Japanese culture."**

**Irritable and tired, Kento leaned his head back on the cushioned bench. "I just got here, you know."**

"**There are many things you have to learn about Japanese culture."**

"**Like what?"**

"**For example, in certain subcultures, the use of certain weapons which seem torturous and inhumane according to other standards are perfectly acceptable."**

"**And you approve of that?"**

"**Who are we to disapprove of another's culture?"**

**They arrived at Toriyama Hashiba's house, which was situated in the suburbs, at 1:00 PM. It was a nice small house with brown roofing and pretty yellow siding. A window signified each room.**

"**I love being home," Tori said as he unlocked the door. "Lena won't be here until 7 since she works tonight. Relax, and I'll have to pick Zaji up from the neighbors in a few minutes."**

"**It looks nice," said Sai. They entered through the living room. Right in front of them, there was a couch with chairs at each side in a semi-circular fashion and facing the television on the wall. There were several tables along the living room, decorated with a variety of knick-knacks. On the walls hung domestic pictures – Tori's and Lena's wedding, the wedding of probably Lena's parents, and the wedding of Tori's parents. There was also a picture of a giggling one-year-old with purple hair and green eyes.**

"**Is this your son?" Sai said.**

"**Yup. That's Zaji Hashiba."**

**Kento walked up to look at the picture. "Hey, this is cool. Rowen's a great-great-grandfather."**

'**It's strange,' thought Sai, 'to witness so many generations. I see a strong resemblance between Zaji and his father, and I see a slight resemblance between Tori and Rowen, but Zaji doesn't look anything like Rowen. In fact, Tori looks more like his grandfather, but we all said that Mateo definitely took after Rowen.' He remembered his friend's parents, another generation among many.**

**He left to explore more of the house. A bar separated the kitchen and dining room from the living room. Those rooms were devoid of decoration and held the typical kitchen appliances, which hadn't changed much.**

**Adjoining the kitchen was a long hallway which connected all of the personal rooms. "The first two are library rooms where Lena and I work," Tori told him. "You can go in all of them if you want."**

**Sai entered the one on the left. He immediately noticed the giant shelves with books along the wall and the rotating shelves also filled with books. Then, he noticed the writing desk and computer on the wall with the door. A few pictures of Tori and Kento-kun, of Zaji, and of Lena, were on the desk. Finally, Sai saw on the other walls dozens of pictures of Rowen. Sai counted them. Twenty-five.**

**In Zaji's room, Ryo found several colorful geographic maps. The political geography had changed drastically since his last memories in 2021. Ryo had known the USA economy was suffering, as was Japan's in 2021, but he didn't expect America's contribution to the world to become non-existent. Canada, on the other hand, surpassed the USA. India appeared to be a major super power in Asia, rivaling China. Where North and South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, and Cambodia once were was a large country named Unity Dragon Corporation. Europe was also similarly solidified in a why that surprised Ryo so much that he read it aloud, "The Swedish Coalition." Did the U.N no longer exist?**

"**That's where I came from."**

**Ryo jumped and turned around to face his great-grandson.**

**Aiden nodded, "I was born and raised in Scotland. My mother is Scottish. Beautiful countryside."**

**Rowen frowned, listening to Seito, Reiji, and Kento-kun argue about when to inform the old warriors about their families. Having prided himself on his independence for most of his life, Rowen felt sick at having them be in control of his life, no matter how logical and well-intentioned or temporary. They mentioned the horrific shock the knowledge would be to them. Rowen suspected their families had encountered a huge disaster. They mentioned that Lena would have class tomorrow, so tomorrow might be a good day, and would give the old warriors another day to adjust. Kento-kun threw a fit about all the classes he was missing; he wanted to inform them and get it over with, but he also seemed reluctant. To be honest, Rowen considered the idea of a Rei Faun as fervent about education a bit unnerving.**

**Rowen wondered how many classes Tori was taking. His great-grandson had left to take Zaji from the neighbors. 'Something seems odd about Tori. He is not as quiet and reserved as I expected. Of course, I shouldn't expect him to be just like myself.' When Tori returned, the father and toddler were hugging each other and telling each other in cooing voices about how the other was missed. Rowen became alarmed. He had expected Tori to behave in a manner similar to his father, Hajime Hashiba, but his behavior was the total opposite.**

**Rowen spoke up, "Perhaps tonight would be best to tell us everything that's happened since our departure."**

**Seito suggested, "After dinner?" Everyone agreed. As soon as Zaji was settled, Tori began cooking.**

**Since Tori and Lena didn't have enough food for so many visitors, he cooked a variety of things – microwaveable rice balls and gyoza, pasta, fish strips, etc. The warriors seated themselves wherever they could find a place. The table seated six. Kento and his namesake facing the other, next to them, Rowen and Tori facing the other, and then Sai and Seito facing the other. Aiden, Ryo, and Sage sat at the bar. Reiji pulled up a chair between the bar and table.**

**Tori casually gave Kento's namesake a jar of pizza sauce, one-third empty, and a large spoon. His namesake began spooning the sauce over his rice balls.**

**Kento smiled, "You know, your grandfather always used to do the same thing. Kousei an' me always bought pizza sauce just for him. It's no wonder Jari wanted his own pizzeria."**

**His namesake barely glanced at him.**

**Kento sighed and grabbed the soda that Tori set on the table for him. It felt not quite grainy, almost like clay. He couldn't see where to open it. "It's not aluminum?" He saw Sai drinking out of a newfangled can just fine.**

**Ryo asked, "Um, what is this?"**

**Aiden replied, "It's Earthen Foam. I don't remember the scientific name for it. We got rid of a lot of aluminum, Styrofoam, and plastics a long time ago."**

**Kento muttered, "Not long enough."**

**Wondering how Sai was able to drink out of such a thing, the other old warriors stared at him.**

**Sai replied to his friends, "Um, this is the first time I've actually opened one. These cans came out a year or two before, um – there's a little tab thing that you pull off along the rim. You pull it off, and the can opens."**

**The old warriors did that.**

**Tori offered them some chocolate milk. "It's the only thing still in plastic. Cow milk doesn't react well to Earthen Foam." Kento-sama and Rowen accepted a glass. Tori spoke as he poured the milk, "But it's completely safe for humans and nature. We've been drinking out of Earthen cans as far as we can remember, and no one has had any problems. It's biodegradable and helps fertilize the Earth." He quit, hearing someone choke.**

**Sage had spit up all over his can when he heard Tori mention fertilizer. Ryo was sniffing his own can.**

"**It's not gonna degrade anytime soon. It still has a few weeks. Would you like some chocolate milk, anyway?"**

**Sage replied, "Yes, please. I would greatly appreciate that."**

**Once everyone was eating and drinking comfortably, Ryo wondered, "What other differences in technology are there?"**

**Aiden said, "Well, cars are now biomechanical. They now rely upon a combination of solar energy and gentle fuels, similar to the way plants work."**

"**You mean, they're alive?"**

**Aiden shook his head, "cars are the least biological of all the biomechanical technologies. The artificial hearts and lungs, for example, are the most biological. A few years after the harmful gases quit being emitted, the cancer rate dropped by 55%."**

**Tori spoke up, more to get Rowen's interest, "I visited a hospital once to learn all about artificial hearts. It's so cool. The hearts are put in this iron and carbon-mixed solution that's kinda like blood, and the hearts are kept warm. I had thought they were frozen, like in old times, but if you freeze a heart or take it out of the solution for too long, it'll die. And the blood solution registers as O negative, 'cause it's the most adaptable for human systems. The doctors and nurses were really nice. They let me wear gloves and reach out to squeeze a –"**

**Kento-kun growled, "Toriyama, that's not a very good dinner conversation . . ."**

**Rowen was not impressed with his great-grandson's childish demeanor. He seemed immature. "So, Tori, how goes your college education?"**

"**Um . . ."**

**Kento-kun promptly boasted, "Did you know that Tori clepped out of the entire freshman year and several sophomore level classes?"**

**Rowen smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything less from a Hashiba. I also took the clep exams and avoided most of the freshman courses."**

**Tori blushed.**

**Kento-kun continued, "and Tori joined the science club, the literary club…" He stopped to let Tori ramble about all the fun he had there.**


	4. Chapter 4

The new warriors informed the old warriors about their families after dinner in the order of who died first and had the most to learn. Aiden told them first that both good and bad things happened to their families and that because of all the time which elapsed, a lot of their relatives had passed away.

Ryo's family became internationally famous. His stepson, Hikaru Hideo-Sanada, grew up to be a respected lawyer and defended Mia Koji and her books about the Ronin Warriors when the government reconsidered her status as Japanese and her influence upon Japanese society. Being half-French and well-known in Japan, Mia became vulnerable to the wrath of the anti-foreign population. Ryo's daughter, Banana (named after the writer Banana Yoshimoto), improved the conditions for women in Japan. She married a police officer, and they had a few children. After her husband's death, her daughter moved to Korea, and Bana-chan moved with her. Ryo's son, Hiroyuki, Aiden's grandfather, became one of the world's leading environmental scientists. Hikaru Hideo-Sanada died a few years ago, and Aiden was the only Sanada living in Japan. Ryo's wife, Sayoko, was also dead.

Aiden's father was one of many Ministers of Ecology in Europe. Aiden's mother was a wealthy Scottish landowner. He and his two siblings grew up on their mother's estate while their father attended conferences around the world.

Aiden himself was very politically and environmentally active. He was the president of his college's ecological committee and also planned to lead a political rally at his college. His older sister worked as a nurse helping refugees, and his younger brother was attending a college in Edinburgh. They spoke eight different languages besides Japanese fluently. Ryo considered how the way he and Sayoko raised their children could lead to the family's current condition. They had taught their children to respect nature and humanity, to treat everyone with dignity, and to do the right thing. Sayoko encouraged their children to be aware of the world and recent events. Their children simply took their parents' lessons to the next level and became more involved in society, and then their children took it another step further.

Kento's namesake dreaded discussing the Rei Faun family, but he had to since it was the right thing, and his great-grandfather deserved to know. "Okay, to put it simply, um, your wife Kousei is dead. She died 13 years ago. She was 81. Jari took over the restaurant. Um, it was going great. I'm sure you remember that."

Kento urged his namesake on by asking, "how are they now?"

So, Kento-kun said bluntly, "The restaurant exploded and burst into flames when I was 15. My grandmother, grandfather, and father were killed. I came out unharmed. I am sure you know why." The Hardrock armor saved him, unscathed. "Never could figure out the cause, really. We could have been targets because of the Ronin armors, it was a few months after I got the armor, but might be some other cause. My twin sister survived 'cause she was waiting tables away from the kitchen. My mom and older sister survived 'cause they were away shopping. We rebuilt the restaurant. My older sister manages it."

Kento stormed off, knowing now what had injured his namesake's sense of Justice and corrupted him right before his first mission. It was exactly what the enemies of the Ronin Warriors would do, but it also matched human cruelty. The other warriors shifted uneasily, aware that their heirs might have similar stories.

Reiji spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, devoid of pride and shame. "I grew up in Sendai in Miyagi prefecture. I have a younger brother, Ashida, seven years my junior. He is attending a high school away from Miyagi, and I am attending a college also away from Miyagi. I major in the fine arts, and I minor in sociology. My mother died giving birth to my brother. My father remarried when I was nine. My father was murdered by a race gang when I was 16."

Hiding his emotions, Sage said, "Rowen, you are next." By then, Rowen and Sai doubted they would have anything good to hear.

Tori beamed with pride as he informed them, "Mateo Hashiba helped Hikaru Hideo-Sanada defend Mia Koji. They and a few other people formed a committee, and it's all 'cause of them that Japan still knows about the Ronin Warriors." Tori smiled. "And Mateo was a very popular college professor, just like you, Rowen. Thank you for writing your memoirs for me. My father would've also been popular, but, um… My father and mother died in a car crash when I was six, and my father's friend Kuroda-san raised me. My grandparents were already dead. Kuroda-san was the only man they trusted with the Ronin Legend."

Rowen took a deep breath. "And how goes your college education?"

"I dropped out of college after Lena and I married."

"What?"

"Well, I wanted to relax and be with my family. College is such boring work."

"Toriyama!"

"What?"

Rowen took another deep breath. "Nothing," he gasped out, "I'm in shock."

Sai was scared to learn about his family. "Not a lot can change in 19 years, can it? I've always known that my children and grandchildren have had a mischievous side and end up in trouble, but they always settle down. They get it from Michiko."

Seito nodded, "I don't think a lot has changed. We still have several stores and some occasional property damage from hurricanes. We're still prosperous. Our prefecture has been fairly quiet. I'm going to college for a general degree. I have a sister who's four-years younger than me. I also have a lot of cousins. Michiko died the year before I got my armor, and Yoshio died last year. Kaede and Kaori are still alive."

Everyone went to bed early, but the original Ronins couldn't sleep, so they snacked and drank chocolate milk in Tori's workroom. Both sets of warriors decided they would go to the public bathhouse the next morning, and Kento-kun would take their clothes to be washed. Then, the new warriors would leave to return to their classes and their jobs, but they would come back over the weekend and take the old warriors shopping for clothes.

'This is the first time I've had chocolate milk,' Sage thought, 'not a bad taste.'

Kento sighed, "I can't believe the way our families turned out. I never imagined this would happen!"

Sai hoped to console him, "They did rebuilt the restaurant, and your great-grandchild survived."

"I know, but Japan itself! I saved my namesake. I rescued him, but – I guess I never thought of what put him in danger or if anyone –"

They were silent for several moments until Ryo wondered, "Do you really think Suzunagi brought us here?"

Rowen replied, "It's the only thing that makes sense. She brought us back so that we can start over and lead happy lives without having to fight."

Sai spoke up, "yes, but I wish our children could've been happy without us having to fight."

Those words made everyone silent again. They all felt a certain amount of guilt over being both fathers and Ronin Warriors, and their duties hurt and also shaped their families. Sai's first marriage ended in divorce because his first wife couldn't live with the fear that her husband might die. The child custody debate was more bitter and hostile than their agreement for a divorce. According to Japanese culture at the time, one parent had to be a "bad parent" and the children must stay with the "good parent." Joint-custody was unheard of, and Sai was proven the bad parent. His first wife convinced him to give up custody by asking, "What if you suddenly have to leave for a battle? Who will take care of our sons then?" Ichiro and Nozomu were toddlers at the time. If he hadn't been a Ronin Warrior, they would have still been married, and their two sons would have known him as their father. Of course, he wouldn't have married Michiko and wouldn't have had their three children, Yoshio, Kaede, and Kaori. But even then, his duties as a warrior hurt them. Seven years after his second marriage, a youja from the netherworld invaded, snatching people at random. Sai and Yoshio had been caught, and Yoshio witnessed more bloodshed than Sai did in his first few years as a warrior. Sai had to abandon his son repeatedly to assist his friends in battle, and Yoshio became psychologically scarred for life. Because he was a Ronin Warrior, he was a horrible father.

Eventually, the old warriors went to sleep. They dreamed about the armors, their histories, the many different worlds, and the elements. They dreamed about how everything flowed together in intricate patterns. In their sleep, they felt as intricate and complex as an entire universe. Fire, earth, air, water, and light working together and contradicting each other in the biosphere. From suffering comes the highest virtues and the worst evils, one leading into and also eliminating the other. They dreamed about Japan and the human world. When they awoke, they were changed.

"Ryo!" Kento exclaimed. "Are you okay, man? Your eyes-"

"What? Kento!" Ryo looked at his other friends. "Sage? Sai?"

They both jumped and stared at each other in alarm and consternation.

Kento groaned, "Aw, man. You too?"

Sai whimpered, "This is very disturbing."

Then, Rowen who had been sleeping during this incident awoke and opened his eyes. Everyone screamed.

Ryo sprang up. "Okay, okay! We have all changed. We can see that." The whites of their eyes were no longer white. Instead of white, they were a beautiful pale blue.

Lena Hashiba left for class before breakfast. She peered in on the old warriors long enough to see their blue (and blue-within-blue for some) eyes, and she decided she didn't want to stick around for ronin business.

Both sets of warriors discussed the transformation over breakfast.

Rowen said, "There's no reason for Suzunagi to do this."

Kento's namesake whined, "Toriyama . . . can you explain –"

Tori exclaimed, "No, I can't explain it! It's like giving me a bunch of variables without giving me an equation! Give me an equation!"

"Okay, then, explain 'blue eyes.' Variable 'blue eyes' equals…"

Tori sighed. "They might have some powers. I'm not sure. In all the mythology I've read, blue eyes represent someone holy and sacred."

Rowen nodded, "I agree. However, if we do have powers, we won't know what they are until we need to use it. We retained powers from our old armors, and we didn't know we had those until Suzunagi put us in situations that required us to use them."

Kento-kun suggested, "So, they might still be spirits?"

Tori replied, "No, I didn't say that. That's a big 'if.' There's no reason to think they're still spirits."

"I'm thinking they're still spirits. And I have an idea on how to find out."

There was a long moment of silence.

Ryo asked, "What is it?"

Kento-kun smirked. "We bleed you. Not a little. I'm not saying knives or anything. Just a little prick of blood. If you can bleed a little, you can certainly bleed a lot. Toriyama has some safety pins for us to use."

Tori cried out, "That's not what they're for!"

Ryo suggested, "well, we get hungry. How's that as proof we're alive and mortal again? If we don't eat, we'll starve and die."

Kento-kun replied, "You could simply be imagining that you're hungry."

Tori commented, "They could imagine out the blood too."

"Toriyama, quit being so abstract!" Kento-kun sighed and addressed the new warriors. "If it'll help, I'll stab myself with a safety pin too, just to make things even."

Sage stood up, "If that is what it takes to convince everyone. I also have my doubts."

Tori pulled out two safety pins and filled two tiny glasses with disinfectant. Kento-kun pointed out a certain spot on the thumb which would draw the most blood. They stabbed themselves without any indication of pain. However, when they put their bleeding thumbs in the disinfectant, Sage gasped and Kento-kun yelped. The old warriors were, without a doubt, alive.

Rowen mumbled again, "There's no reason for Suzunagi to do this. Not when we were armor spirits, and our powers then were capable of reaching into the mortal world to help you during a crisis."

Sai wondered, "How can we explain our appearances to people we meet? If we do reenter society, how can we explain this?"

Kento's namesake shrugged. "Just say you used to be a bunch of Neon Goths."

"Excuse me?"

"Say you used to be into all that gothic stuff."

"I'm sorry if I sound biased or anything, but don't Goths worship vampires?"

Kento-kun replied, "Nope. Say you used to be Neon Goths, not Classic Goths. Neon Goths worship rainbows. Vampiric rainbows, but still – rainbows."

"You have an odd sense of humor."

'My first attempt has failed,' Katsuo thought, 'I can't figure out what I've done wrong.' He glanced up from his papers at a picture of his childhood friends, most of whom were dead. He stared at one person in particular, a youth with a smooth pale complexion, crystalline eyes with an eyelid drooping down, and light brown hair.

Katsuo dialed a classmate's phone number. As usual over the past few days, he received the answering machine: "Hello, this is Kento Rei Faun. If you have the right number, I'd like to know who you are and why you're calling me. Leave your message after the beep."

Katsuo hung up the phone. He had already left a message a few days ago. It wasn't like Kento to be away for so long.

The public bathhouse had some amusing and disturbing incidents. Seito and Sai noticed they had the same surgical scars from where their appendixes had been removed.

The old warriors discovered that Reiji's entire torso was covered with healed burn scars. No one remembered a battle against evil in which he could have received those injuries. When Sage inquired about those wounds, Reiji merely replied that not every battle involves the Ronin Warriors. Kento then commented to Sage that Reiji seemed a little disturbing. Sage admitted, "Before we left the spirit world, I sensed Reiji was having trouble with his guiding virtue. I think it is a problem which has progressed gradually over the years."

Ryo couldn't rinse all the soap out of his hair. He had too much hair and used up the two-liter water limit. When Sai told him he would have to cut it off again, Ryo grumbled, "I liked having long hair…"

Overall, the trip to the public bathhouse was a normal and relaxing event.

Aiden sighed as he and the other new warriors prepared to depart. "It was nice meeting you, Ryo. I hope everything goes well. We'll come back again in a few days and help you guys around the mall. I hope you don't mind wearing the same thing for a few more days."

Ryo smiled. "It was great meeting you, Aiden."

Kento said to his namesake, "Hey, if you ever have anything you wanna talk about, you have Tori's phone number, and I'll probably be there until who-knows-when. If you just wanna chat, that's fine. I'll love it."

His namesake replied, "Um, yeah. Thanks."

Seito said to Sai, "What can I say? Having you here has been exciting. I never thought we'd actually meet."

"I never thought so, either. When I last saw you, you were still in diapers!"

Seito laughed. "I still have that picture."

"Oh, I remember that. I didn't look so good then."

Sage said to Reiji, "Remember that even though I am mortal again and youthful in appearance, I still have an entire lifetime of knowledge and experience. If you need my help, I will give it freely."

"I know."

Since they were staying at Tori's house, Tori and Rowen didn't share any parting words.

Kento-kun collapsed on his couch. He had the strangest feeling that his entire life would be upturned again, and all because of his armor spirit. His life lacked stability ever since he became a Ronin Warrior. He recalled a conversation that he and Reiji once had. Tori had encouraged Ryo to talk about Japanese society in 2021 for Reiji because Reiji was interested in sociology and might like to hear from a person who came from that time period.

After Ryo finished talking about the Japan of 2021, Reiji told Kento-kun that Ryo was the kind of man he disliked. Reiji told him about the formation of early race gangs. Kind and caring parents who felt threatened by the immigrant population encouraged their children against them, although those parents usually wanted deportation only for the immigrants or otherwise never thought about what their kids would do. Then, there were kind and caring children who couldn't get jobs because of the immigrants and whose parents had their jobs replaced by immigrants when once upon a time, foreigners were hired to teach English and nothing else.

Where had the Japanese loyalty gone to?

Those children banded together and did what they could to help society. They attacked the foreigners, who they saw as invaders, with the hopes of forcing the immigrants to leave so that the original Japanese could regain control. However, each successive generation became more violent and embittered. The foreigners developed their own race gangs. Retaliation brought about more retaliation, but such violence and hate began with loving parents who worried about their family's future.

'Reiji, if this is what you're thinking, you're right. There prob'ly is no point in being a Ronin Warrior. Our great-grandfathers couldn't heal humanity, and neither can we. But, we were born this way, and this is what we'll do until we die.'

Kento-kun closed his eyes and then convinced himself to get up and call his teachers for the class work he missed. Several essays and lectures, notes… two days missing off his paycheck. He could call his teachers and attempt again to build a life for himself apart from the Ronin Warriors. He hoped Kento-sama wouldn't call anytime soon. He considered briefly avoiding Toriyama's house while on vacation but decided against it. Tori always expected him now. He approached his phone on the kitchen counter and noticed four missed calls on his answering machine. He checked them. All from Katsuo Kanzari, asking for help about the Ronin Legend.

Kento-kun grumbled, "I better get paid for this tutoring," as he dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Katsuo, what is it?"

"Kento! It's good to hear from you again. Where have you been?"

"I've been out. I'm not in a good mood. What is it?"

"You know Rowen Hashiba published a book about the armor world."

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't quite understand it."

"Alright, can it wait until an official tutoring session? I work at the tutoring center tomorrow."

Author's notes: Tell me what you think! Love it? Hate it? Is it interesting? Realistic? Should I continue? I've been pretty nervous about doing all this stuff to the guy's families, and I've also been pretty nervous about dealing with a new generation of warriors.


	5. Chapter 5

For the original Ronin Warriors, the next three days passed in a stupor. Everything seemed clear and vibrant to their renewed sense, yet at the end of each day, they were exhausted and unable to recollect what happened until a full night's sleep. They felt as though there were plenty for them to do, but they didn't know what. The very first thing they did after seeing their great-grandsons depart was watch Toriyama Hashiba give Rowen's great-great-grandson, Zaji Hashiba, a bath. They had nothing better to do.

Zaji had been terrified of all the strangers until his father introduced them as his friends. Kento tried playing with the toddler. His initial attempt ended with Zaji wailing in mortal terror.

"I was just trying to tickle him!" Kento exclaimed as Tori comforted his son. "All my children loved being tickled."

"Zaji's skin is very sensitive."

"I'll say…" Kento sighed, "So, what games does he like to play?"

"He likes puzzles, sound games, depth-perception games, and object permanence games. He also has some virtual games I let him play."

"Ah. What's object permanence?"

"They're games like peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek."

Kento smiled. Leave it to a Hashiba to make the most normal things sound sophisticated. He then began playing with his friend's great-great-grandson without further incidents. He learned that Zaji could not handle many games considered "rough and tumble" by toddler standards. The only thing he could do along those lines was bounce Zaji lightly on his knee. Tori watched him curiously.

"Something on your mind?" Kento wondered.

"You're very different from what I had expected."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Neither, but it's very interesting. I expected you to be more like Kento-kun."

"He doesn't like kids?"

"Well, he's fine around Zaji. Seito once said he wouldn't know what to do with a baby if one crawled up to him and called him 'daddy.'"

"He actually said that?" About his namesake?

"Well, I think he used the word 'papa' instead of 'daddy', but it's pretty much the same. I think Kento-kun's scared of babies."

The simplistic tone compelled Kento to chuckle. "Why would anyone be scared of a baby?"

"I don't know. He seems to act that way."

Kento frowned. "Does he have a girlfriend or fiancé or …"

"I think he's scared of them too."

Kento's frown deepened, understanding his great-grandson to a small extent. Sai had been terrified of marrying Michiko. He didn't want his duties as a Ronin Warrior to hurt her or any children they might have. He had agonized over whether or not to propose and whether or not to call off their dating relationship. Kento's namesake might be experiencing the same anxieties.

The original Ronins also couldn't stop themselves from marveling over their youthful forms. They had become so accustomed to how they appeared in old age that they forgot what each other looked like during their youths.

Tori's wife, Lena, cut Ryo's hair the evening after the new warriors' departure so that his hair came just below his shoulders and tapered off from the sides into a V shape. Ryo had started having his hair trimmed that way around the end of college. Rowen and Kento, with nothing better to do, watched Lena cut his hair.

While Ryo was giving her directions on how to fix it, Rowen stared at his own reflection in the mirror. He couldn't quite believe what happened to his eyes. Because his eyes and Ryo's eyes were naturally a solid blue, the transformation last night now gave their eyes an opaque appearance. Kento commented to him, "That's just too much blue, even for you, Rowen."

After Ryo finished with the directions, Lena spoke up, "Tori's hair used to be a lot like yours, Rowen, until I started fixing it for him. He was always hacking at it and chopping it."

"Hm." The current silky texture of Tori's hair was actually similar to that of Rowen's wife, Vidali. He didn't think his great-grandson could have inherited both types of hair. Of course, he had never thought his hair color and Vidali's hair color would have blended together for their son to have had purple hair. Purple hair became a dominant Hashiba trait.

Enjoying their newfound agility, Sai and Sage sparred frequently during those two days. Once, Sage accidentally knocked him onto the ground. Sai felt a brief moment of terror – such a fall would have been hazardous in his later years – but he didn't even receive a bruise, and he ended up laughing.

The day after the new warriors' departure, Sai decided to watch television. He found on a genre-specific channel a marathon one of the last shows he had watched 19 years ago, but he never made it to the finale. Finally, he would know how the series ended. Ryo came into the living room during a commercial and wondered what his friend was watching.

Sai said, "It's an anime that I always used to –"

The commercial ended, and Ryo said in surprise, "That's anime?"

Sai didn't comment. It was now an outdated anime style, anyway. Ryo watched the rest of the show with him. Kento also came in, became interested in the storyline, and the three made a little snack party out of the marathon.

The original Ronin Warriors were shocked that Toriyama Hashiba had chosen the life of a househusband, but then they learned that Tori also had a job which supported the family. He wrote short stories, published in all three magazine formats. Sai read one of his stories and then hurried to Rowen to tell him all about the awesome story.

"Rowen, you have to read the stories that Toriyama writes! I just read one of them, and it's –" he paused to catch his breath.

Rowen asked, "What is it about?"

Then, Sai frowned thoughtfully. He loved the detail and the nifty sentence structure. "Well…" What was the story about? "It's about these people, and they're sitting at a table and drinking tea." The description was so awesome. "But, I think the tea is laced with something." Excellent use of syntax. "And then, a strange bird flies in through one of the light fixtures." H. P. Lovecraft would be proud of him.

After Sai finished, Rowen commented, "It doesn't sound like it was about much of anything."

"But it was written so well!"

In all honesty, Rowen found the state of his family disturbing; he couldn't find any of his parental influence through the generations in Toriyama. Tori told the original Ronin Warriors all he knew about their heirs. Aiden, Seito, and Reiji called almost every day to know how things were going. Even though Aiden came from the highest and most culturally-advanced social class, completely opposite from Ryo, Rowen saw and understood how Ryo's parental influence affected each generation leading to Aiden Sanada. Ryo didn't even live to attend his children's college graduations let alone see any of his grandchildren, yet his influence remained the strongest. Ryo's love of nature inspired his son Hiroyuki to become an environmental scientist; this led to Hiroyuki and his family traveling throughout the world; from that influential standpoint, Ryo's grandson was able to meet and marry a kind-hearted yet high-class Scottish woman. Ryo's wife Sayoko also had a strong influence, always encouraging their children to bigger and more powerful activities. Rowen found himself wondering if his family perished in the car crash which orphaned Toriyama. Where was the Hashiba place among the intellectual elite? Because of Rowen, his son Mateo became a social and political critic, a well-known social philosopher who helped protect Mia Koji and who had published numerous thought-provoking books. Because of that influence, Hajime was able to socialize with the higher classes. Then, a car crash (of all the insignificant ways to die!) orphaned Toriyama and destroyed the influence of Rowen Hashiba. Rowen saw only the most superficial resemblances between his heir and himself, and he felt as though a large part of his own spiritual worth had perished as well.

"It's all because of Japan today," Kento said that night. "It's like society itself was trying to ruin our families and everything we've worked for. The good thing is that they're still here, and they're persevering. We're here, and we can do what we can to help them."

Both Kento and Sage worried that their influence had also diminished. Although they never voiced their thoughts, they speculated that Ryo's family was only successful because the Sanada family left Japan and never endured the instability plaguing the country. Rowen nodded. If Kento and Sage could help their heirs and play a good part in their lives, he could also play an important part in Toriyama's life.

Tori kept a collection of newspapers since 2057. Once the original Ronin Warriors accepted the fact that they would live out their lives again in the mortal world, they began reading those newspapers from the earliest dates. Japan resembled the Sengoku period all over again. Sage's native prefecture, Miyagi, was commonly referred to as "Bloody Miyagi." However, the other prefectures such as Kento's native Kanagawa prefecture had their equal share of problems. There were no Ronin Warriors during the Sengoku period. The four warlords were born during that time, and four of the armors Kaosu the Ancient created became corrupt, full of Talpa's evil influence. No wonder their heirs had such difficulties with their guiding virtues.

When Ryo mentioned to Tori how hard life must have been in the 2050s and 60s, Tori shrugged, "I only read about that stuff. I stayed in my room and read. Kuroda-san made sure I had a lot of books."

On the third day, the new warriors would return that afternoon and take the old warriors shopping for clothes and then stay over the weekend. Before going to the bathhouse, the original warriors cleaned the kitchen, watched television, and took care of Zaji while Tori checked the news on his computer. They had been acting like guests in the Hashiba household for long enough and now wanted to be helpful around the house. They didn't know what the new Ronin of Strata was reading. "Oh, this is cool!" Tori exclaimed to himself over one article, but no one heard him. In the center of Japan, an old shrine had been discovered. No one could pinpoint the exact date of the shrine, which housed thrones of reflective black crystal. Current estimates were from 4,000 years ago to from 12,000 years ago. Who built the shrine, who it was dedicated to, and the purpose of the shrine remained a mystery. Furthermore, the reflective black crystals were the first of their kind ever discovered. The archeological site was not open to tourists or visitors. Tori didn't tell anyone what he learned. He didn't realize the importance of the shrine, and he had been attempting not to annoy people with every bit of information which interested him.

Katsuo Kanzari happened to be reading the same article in his apartment. As he read, he remembered what Kento Rei Faun II had told him about the armor world in their tutorial session. Rowen Hashiba knew about the nature of the armor world. How it was connected to the other worlds and how it was created remained up to wild speculation. However, the armor world was perhaps the oldest of all the other worlds, and there did exist portals into each world. In his book, Rowen Hashiba affirmed that hidden portals between all the worlds existed. How else could the worlds interact? Katsuo wondered if that unusual shrine might be such a portal.

Katsuo then contemplated whether or not to discover a way into the shrine. He considered how his last attempt into the armor world failed and worried if he could even cope with the armor world. He remembered an old friend who had opened his interest in the Ronin Legend and who had been optimistic about a wonderful beautiful future. He had adored his friend's optimism. However, what good had the Ronin Warriors done for Japan? In the years since he last saw his friend, he realized even if the Ronin Warriors existed, they were useless. He decided to sneak into the shrine. In honor of all who suffered, he needed to reach the armor world.

* * *

At the mall, Rowen listened to Tori talk to Lena over the cell phone. How strange that a man would give a woman advice on how to care for a baby! Everyone thought the same thing. Househusbands were a rarity in Japan and attracted everyone's attention.

Once Tori hung up, Aiden asked him, "How familiar are you with the mall?"

"Oh, not at all. I hate the mall. It's always too crowded."

Rowen detected a little childish whine in his great-grandson's tone. They entered through the full food court, and he noticed how Tori cringed. Tori lifted his hands close to his ears and stayed close to Kento-kun. Rowen frowned. Those might be behaviors he would need to correct.

"I wish we could've gone on a weekday," Tori grumbled, again in that childish whine. "Then, it's not so crowded."

They wandered around for a little while, seeing all different groups of people. They saw some dressed in leather and others dressed in wool and wore feathers in their hair. Sai noticed that his great-grandson was one of those people dressed mainly in leather; Seito also wore a T-shirt featuring a wicked warrior-magician whose head was that of a dragon's skull. Sai shuddered, noticed Seito's fingernails were painted a grotesque blue, and then reminded himself that Seito was a wonderful Ronin of Torrent. Still, he couldn't shake off the queasy feeling in his stomach. Sai examined the clothes of the other new warriors; they were dressed normally. He glanced away from the group and saw some people wearing necklaces with an orb shaped like the Earth.

He told Ryo, "Chikyuko worshippers wear those necklaces."

Ryo remembered something he had wanted to ask. "How come they're fans of the Sanada family?"

Aiden spoke up, "The Chikyuko are Earth-worshippers. They revere Mother Earth, and since our family cares for the Earth, they support us."

Sai added, "It's not really a new religion, though. They're mainly interested in the Earth, so anyone from any religion can attend Chikyuko shrines."

Kento cheered to his namesake, "Isn't this exciting, hanging out with your great-grandfather?"

"Uh, yeah," but his voice held no enthusiasm.

Kento tried to cheer him more when they found a clothing store and searched through the clothes but received no response. The rest of the new warriors, however, stared at him every time he made a jovial comment. Undoubtedly, they were comparing him to his namesake, and his carefree attitude startled them.

Sai noticed Tori, feeling claustrophobic, back away from the group into a wider section of the store. "Where do you usually shop?"

"There's a used-clothes store a few streets away from the house. Clothes there are in wonderful condition and only cost a few yen, and Lena and I resell our old clothes there all the time."

Sai then noticed Sage and Rowen considering some of the more expensive items. He said to Tori, "I hope you don't my mind asking… how come we're not shopping there? I know we need a lot of clothes, and since you are familiar with the store –" he stopped.

Aiden spoke up, "Well, we did discuss it. I figured you guys would need the best, everything new, and everyone else agreed."

Tori told his indefinite guests, "Don't worry too much about how much everything is. Lena and I have plenty of money."

Rowen replied, "From your trust fund?" He and Vidali had started a trust fund for Mateo in case they died before their son reached adulthood. When Hajime was born, they got rid of Mateo's trust fund and put the money into a trust fund for their grandson. Mateo also added a considerable sum of money to it. Rowen had assumed Mateo and Hajime did the same for Tori, in which case, his heir had automatically amassed a large fortune. He was correct.

After picking out their clothes, they found a rack full of eyeglasses. There, Kento provoked a response from his namesake. He put on a pair of sunglasses and asked him, "Are these cool, or what?"

His namesake, now irritated, replied, "Whatever."

Sai tried on a pair of green-tinted glasses, but everyone agreed they made the blue part of his eyes look yellow. Yellow-tinted glasses, on the other hand, made the blue part of his eyes look green. He chose a yellow-tint he liked. Sage considered buying glasses but decided against it. Rowen picked out both sunglasses and yellow-green tinted glasses which obscured his eyes completely. Ryo chose not to hide his blue-within-blue eyes, but he did buy a pair of sunglasses to carry around and wear in case anyone else was disturbed by his appearance.

* * *

They then met up with Lena and the baby at her and Tori's favorite restaurant in time for the dinner buffet and before the large crowd arrived. They pulled three tables together for all twelve people to sit. The old warriors sat on the left side, and the new warriors plus Tori's family on the right. There wasn't much conversation until everyone had their food. The new warriors still couldn't believe Kento-sama had such a huge appetite.

Aiden wondered, "Have you guys figured out what you're gonna do or what's happened or –"

Sai said, "Well, we're all pretty much stuck here. I think we all know that. We haven't figured out what happened." He glanced at Lena, who had been active the past three days but was quiet and subdued, out of place among both sets of warriors.

Ryo said, "There's no way for us to pick up where we left off. What we'd need to do is go to college, get degrees all over again, and then start over. There's nothing we can do except start everything over."

Rowen added, "We'll probably need to change our family names. With the books I've published, I would certainly attract attention calling myself 'Rowen Hashiba.' We would also need new birth certificates later and new proofs of identity. No one would believe we're actually nearing 100, and we don't need to attract any attention to ourselves. We would need to reestablish ourselves as a part of society in every way possible."

Kento-sama also added, "Yeah, it's strange to say this, but we all have death certificates. We don't exactly exist in this world anymore."

His namesake smirked, "So, that's what? Forging high school transcripts, and several other kinds of official documents?"

Rowen replied, "It's the only thing we can do. We can't tell anyone what actually happened."

"Are you sure we should do something so illegal?"

Seito spoke up, "I'm sure we can find out some way to make you a part of society again. We have ten months until the next college year starts."

Sage set his chopsticks on his plate. The situation made him lose his appetite. He looked at his friends. They once had their lives firmly established – Sage teaching at the dojo, Rowen educating college students, Kento running the restaurant, Sai selling commonplace items, Ryo coaching high school soccer. Now… Sage felt uneasy. He had never imagined himself with any other job than taking over his family's dojo. It had been his life, his whole existence, and a historic heritage which he came from and which he continued. But that heritage was continuing without him. He had fulfilled his part in life. What else could he do? He noticed the same troubled expression on Kento's face.

Sage said, "I wonder what life will bring us this time."

Sai said, "It's strange that we have to start over – all over again."

Kento spoke up, "Japan's changed so much, but at least we're all here together."

Rowen nodded.

Smiling, Ryo picked up his glass, "Let's have a toast. I guess this is for the future then. Good, bad, whatever brings. To the future."

His friends also picked up their glasses for a toast and a resolute, "To the future!"

The new warriors stared at them, amazed at their beaming optimism and their amiability among each other.

Seito spoke quickly, "We should also have a toast!"

Aiden agreed fervently, and the five new warriors touched their glasses together with a brief embarrassed "cheers."


	6. Chapter 6

**Roughly a week or two after their arrival, Tori and Lena expected them to help keep the house tidy. By that time, out of a combination of boredom and responsibility, they were more than happy to make themselves useful, either cooking dinner (Kento and Sai), washing the dishes (Sai and Ryo), purchasing small things at the store (Sage and Ryo), or putting away groceries (Sai and Sage). Rowen always put up the books he finished reading exactly where he found them.**

**Once Tori noticed this, he began asking Rowen to do what he considered 'family-centric' duties. "Hey, Rowen, would you please feed Zaji? He's letting out his hungry-cry, and-"**

**Rowen interrupted, "My wife had always fed Mateo when he was a baby."**

"**Okay…"**

"**I am not suited for feeding infants."**

**Upon hearing Tori's request, Kento always offered, "I'll do it!"**

**And another instance, "Hey, Rowen, ah… Zaji needs his diaper changed, and I was wondering if you could do it."**

"**My wife had always done that."**

**Tori looked around the room, "…Sage?"**

**Sage was horrified. To everyone's relief, Kento offered to change the diaper.**

**Still later, "Rowen, the kitchen's awfully messy, and-"**

"**My wife had done that."**

**A couple months after they arrived, Tori commented, "Rowen, you look pretty bored. Would you like to have something to do?"**

"**I would love to have a productive activity."**

"**Great! I was wondering if you could take Zaji to the new play area in the park. If he gets too messy, I'd like for you to give him a bath once he's done." By that time, Tori and Lena felt comfortable with having the old warriors babysit; the couple began going out to eat by themselves.**

**Rowen sighed in exasperation. "My wife had been in complete charge of childrearing duties."**

**Kento boasted, "I'll take the little tyke!"**

* * *

**Over the phone Aiden was saying, "Ryo, I'm glad we're finally able to talk! Life has been so hectic, managing the ecological committee and organizing the rally for next year. Not to mention all the classes and exams!" There was a laugh. "So, you've been here for almost a month now. How are you enjoying everything so far?"**

"**Everything's fine. I think Tori's tired of us drinking chocolate milk. Sai went shopping with him a few days ago, and they bought some tea."**

**Another laugh. "Good. So, has Seito spoken with Sai often? I know he also has a busy schedule, but it shouldn't be as hectic as mine."**

"**Yeah, they get along great. We never thought they'd be such great friends since they seem like complete opposites, but they seem like they have a lot in common."**

"**Good." This time, the tone was more serious and a little uneasy. Sai and Seito had plenty of common ground for discussion, but what could Aiden and Ryo converse about? "So, um, what kind of entertainment do you enjoy? I like all kinds – Modern Opera, Classical Opera . . . Modern Opera didn't exist in your time. Have you seen a Classical Opera?"**

"**No, um . . . Sayoko and me and the kids – we weren't into that stuff." Ryo's tone was also uneasy, having the same thoughts as Aiden. The barrier wasn't merely time; it was geographic.**

"**Oh." A silence. "What about symphonies? Every country and culture has symphonies and concerts of its classical heritage. Maybe you've listened to traditional Japanese music? Or have you been to a kabuki performance?"**

"**Actually, yes! I have been to a kabuki, and I have listened to traditional music. When Hikaru and Bana-chan were in high school, they took art classes and had to attend some of the classics. Sage also plays a flute, and I've listened to him a few times."**

"**Good! Did you enjoy those?"**

"**Yeah, they were alright. We usually rented movies, though. Sometimes, we went to the theater."**

"**Ah."**

**Ryo sighed, "I know we're completely different. You were raised in a great big mansion with servants, and I grew up by myself in a small home in the woods and mountains."**

"**You were surrounded by nature all your life?"**

"**For the first part of it, yeah."**

"**I love nature! I love hiking through the fields and watching the birds and listening to the wildlife. When there are clouds overhead… and witnessing the fog descend into the valleys. At home, I only have Wordsworth, but that poet cannot capture the actual experience of nature."**

"**Isn't it amazing? Whenever it rained, I felt lazy and listened to the storm. The sound of the raindrops and the thunder – they seem to fill everything."**

"**I camped out in a storm once. Scared my mother and sister half to death, but I loved it. Then, I ran barefoot through all the large puddles."**

"**Did you swim in a stream?"**

"**Of course!"**

"**Me too! Dive in a slowly rushing stream and figure out where it'll take you."**

*********

**Sai and Seito over the phone. Sai was speaking, "I've been thinking about motorcycles. I think I'd like to ride one."**

"**Really?"**

"**Yes, I used to have a similar vehicle in 1991. A bulky white thing."**

"**Would you like to ride mine sometime later? There's not much difference in how to ride them."**

"**Sure! Thanks!"**

"**Maybe we can go surfing next spring or summer?"**

"**I'd love that too! I haven't been surfing in… in… in 1993. Oh, I need a surfboard. I need a job. I need a lot of things, and I feel like I'm asking for too much."**

"**Don't worry, Sai. Until you're able to actually get back on your feet, we'll do what we can to make you guys feel comfortable. I don't mind getting you a surfboard, and I don't mind you riding my bike as long as you don't steal it."**

**They both laughed.**

*********

**Sage spoke to Reiji over the phone, "It's strange, but we now crave material objects. At first, food and shelter were our main concern, but we now have a possessive urge to obtain things. Nothing too big, however. Rowen wants a notebook for writing, Ryo wants a soccer ball, and even Sai is feeling somewhat possessive. Even I miss having my flute and training sword."**

**Silence on the other end.**

**Sage asked Reiji, "How are your classes?"**

"**They are well. I am a successful student."**

**Anyone who listened knew Sage was smiling. "Good. I am proud. I had also majored in art while I attended a college in Miyagi prefecture. I wish I had my flute. Tori and Lena are good people, but living here, not knowing what to do with my new life, is stressful, and the music would soothe me more than meditation."**

**Cold silence.**

"**Reiji?"**

"**Yes?"**

"**Have you also learned to play the flute?"**

"**Yes. I was taught at an early age to soothe my own feelings."**

**Another silence as Sage frowned in consternation and considered more questions to spark a bright response. His great-grandson's tone was too neutral and non-committal. "Reiji, you are the eldest in line to inherit the dojo. You must feel honored to be the one who can continue the family legacy. I remember how I honored I felt when I had inherited the dojo… but I digress. I want to hear about you."**

"**The dojo is my home."**

"**Good! As it should be!"**

**Again, silence. Sage sighed, "Well, I suppose I must leave now. I would enjoy more conversations with you. Good-bye."**

"**Good-bye."**

*********

**On a completely different day, Sai, Rowen, and Ryo waited on the couch for a commercial break to end. Rowen muted the channel. Then, they heard Tori and their Kento discussing Zaji's walking ability and potty-training in another room.**

**Sai commented, "It's kinda strange how well Tori and our Kento get along."**

**Rowen felt miserable. 'They're obsessed with families. What about a professional career? Colleges have daycare centers now. I should mention that to Tori. That could be an incentive to further his own education.'**

**Suddenly, the two voices grew louder as Kento and Tori entered the living room. Kento was pleading with him, "Aw, c'mon, Yuli would know everything by now! You said he's kept track of all our grandchildren and great-grandchildren."**

**Tori wailed, "As best as he could! Six kids are a lot."**

"**I'll be very quiet so he won't know we're here, and the others'll be quiet too. C'mon, I have 35 years missing here! That's a generation and a half's worth of family I'm missing!" He clasped his hands together in a praying beggar-like manner.**

**Tori sighed, "Alright."**

"**Thanks!" Kento ran off to get several sheets of paper.**

**When he returned, Ryo told them, "Sage is in the park, trying to find a quiet place to meditate. I don't know how long he'll be gone, but I thought you should know."**

**Kento wrote down dozens of names on the papers as Tori dialed the phone number. "Yamano-san! Hi, it's me, Tori Hashiba."**

"**Good afternoon, Tori. It's nice to hear from you."**

**The original warriors stared at the phone in shock. They heard an old man's voice. Ryo clasped his hands over his mouth.**

"**Well, Yamano-san, I was wondering about Kento-kun's family. Kento-kun's like a brother to me, and I want to make a family tree about him, and I think you know more than he does."**

**Yuli sighed, "I wish he would also start taking an interest in these things. Well, how far back would you want to go?"**

"**Back to Kento-sama, please. Kento-sama is… he's at the beginning."**

"**Lemme look through my calendar and other files. I know he has 22 grandchildren."**

**Tori stared at Kento-sama in alarm. Kento shrugged, grinning. The final tally ended as six kids, 22 grandkids, and 55 great-grandkids. There was undoubtedly more, but Yuli lost track of the descendents who left Japan. Kento's only biological child traveled all over the world, and not even he could keep track of her. Also, one of his adopted sons had moved to Australia.**

*********

**The few conversations Rowen and Tori did have were brief. "Did you know yout grandfather Mateo attended and later taught at the same college as I did?"**

"**No, but that's really cool." Tori focused intently on Rowen's words.**

"**Your father attended a more prestigious university and earned one of the best scholarships. I've always considered myself fortunate to have been there for that."**

**Tori grinned, excited at this little story.**

"**And I was told you were able to skip the entire freshmen year!"**

**Tori's grin widened. He was almost beaming. "That's how I met Lena. We took the same level classes. We were also in clubs together."**

"**Yes, I noticed she's a year older than you. I was wondering which scholarship you earned. I thought a literature scholarship since you write stories, but I noticed your chemistry set and your subscription to numerous astrological magazines, and I realized it could easily be a scholarship dealing with one of the chemistry fields or even physics."**

"**I got a basic general scholarship. There were way too many things for me to choose from."**

"**Oh. Unless scholarships have changed, a basic scholarship only pays for freshmen and sophomore level classes, and not much money at that."**

"**Yeah. Well, it could have paid for junior level classes since for me, first year and sophomore were the same thing, but you're right that it doesn't pay much. If I stayed in college, I would have eventually had to get a more specific scholarship tied to a major, and there was so many different majors I got a headache looking through all my options."**

"**Tori, perseverance is the key to getting what you want. The easy decisions are not always beneficial, and sometimes what is truly worth considering requires a great deal of time and mental energy."**

**Tori nodded. "In the end, my two choices came to staying in college or getting married. I figured if I married Lena, I'd have to drop out of college 'cause Lena knew what she was doing with her courses, but that was also a difficult decision."**

**On another occasion, Rowen noted the numerous books that arrived for Toriyama in the mail and commented, "The study of history is meant to improve a person – to learn from the mistakes of the past, to increase one's knowledge of humanity, and to learn how things came to be. I'm proud you've chosen to study these topics."**

"**Thanks. I think they're great."**

"…**do you agree with this reason why people should study history?"**

**Tori nodded, smiling.**

**Rowen frowned somberly, uncertain of how to interpret the response. "History can tell a man who he is and can give a man a sense of direction."**

"**That's cool." Feeling guilty at Rowen's expression, Tori added, "I know it's because of you and your actions with the armors that I am a Ronin Warrior today. You're a part of history now, Rowen."**

**The blue-haired man felt frustrated and let topic end peacefully. Although Tori displayed great intelligence when he wanted to, he often acted more like an immature little kid than a 21-year-old with an endless litany of "Did you know -"**

* * *

**Life was crowded in the household of Tori and Lena Hashiba. When Tori decided to grocery-shop one day, Rowen wanted to accompany him alone. Tori was excited to have Rowen with him. For nearly his entire life, Tori idolized Rowen as both an inspiration and as a loving ancestor. In fact, until he received his armor, he felt that Rowen was all he had in life.**

"**I am proud of you, Tori," said Rowen as Tori looked at the cereals.**

**Tori glanced away from a cereal box he was holding to say, "Thanks!" He smiled, beaming happily. Because of how crowded life had become in the new Hashiba household, he never had a chance to spend time with his former armor spirit.**

"**You are very intelligent, and you certainly know how to use your wisdom in battle. I made certain of that."**

**Tori continued to smile. He set the cereal box back on the shelf. There were better brands.**

"**Have you considered using your wisdom for other activities?"**

**Tori's smile dropped. He suddenly detected something in Rowen's tone beyond mere compliments or interest. "I don't do anything stupid."**

"**I never said that, but we need to think of all your talents. You are skilled in history, military strategy, ancient literature, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering… You have continued to study all of these in journals, books, and documentaries, but you never apply these in your daily life."**

"**Yeah." Tori knew then that Rowen had a direct purpose in mind for their conversation.**

**Rowen and Tori had been alternating; sometimes Rowen was behind Tori and sometimes by his side. Right now, Rowen was close by him. "Have you thought of what you can do?"**

"**Not really."**

**They went down to the adjacent pasta aisle. Rowen fell behind Tori again. Tori glanced at a few brands and types. Then, he pulled out a box of giant shell pasta and examined the ingredients. "Did you know that in 2041, several laws were passed in many countries that made certain pastas illegal? It was because of environmental legislation and the eggs used to make the pasta. Only chicken eggs are legal in those countries, but people began to experiment with different types of eggs…"**

**Tori stopped, seeing Rowen's expression. His expression was analytical and impassive. Tori had the distinct impression that Rowen was scrutinizing him and strategizing the entire conversation. It made him feel very uncomfortable. He set a few boxes of pasta in the cart and resumed down the aisle.**

**Rowen hurried to be right next to him. "I am very concerned about you and about your knowledge not being applied."**

**Tori clenched the handle on the cart. Rowen wanted something specific and what determined to get what he wanted. Tori had simply wished for a pleasant visit. His armor spirit was not pleased with his heir's life.**

"**I am also concerned about Zaji and the example this is setting for him."**

**Tori rolled his eyes upward. Outrage and mournfulness came simultaneously. How could Rowen use Zaji in this discussion? A few weeks earlier, Tori had placed Zaji in Rowen's lap. Since being orphaned at the age of six, Tori had cherished Rowen as the sole family member and loving influence in his life; he wanted Rowen and Zaji to have a similar relationship. Unfortunately, when he placed Zaji in Rowen's lap, Rowen freaked out and all but shoved him to the ground. Whenever Zaji tried to show Rowen a new toy, Rowen was often irritated and disinterested. At least Sage was always respectful to the toddler; even though Sage never interacted much with Zaji, he always spoke respectfully with the same tone he used for everyone else. Tori now came to think that Rowen hated his family.**

**Rowen said, "If Zaji sees you applying your knowledge in a constructive manner, He will learn to apply his own knowledge."**

"**Please, let's not talk about Zaji, okay?"**

"**Very well."**

**Tori sighed. He pushed the cart closer to the cold beverage section. He needed more chocolate milk. He reached for a jug, but Rowen asked:**

"**I think you should select something else."**

**Tori scowled. So, this was it. Rowen was trying to control his life in every form possible. Rowen was trying to manipulate him.**

* * *

**Kento-sama's messages on his namesake's answering machine:**

"**Hey, how's everything going? Everything's going great over here. Tori's teaching us how to use the new computers. Did you know Tori's cooking is awesome?! I wonder who taught him how to cook. Heh. You don't have to answer that. I had already asked him. You're an awesome teacher."**

**A few days later with no reply. "Hey, how's everything going? How're all of your classes? Everyone tells me you're pretty busy. What classes are you taking? I couldn't handle the heavy workload. Well, I can't think of much to say. Call back soon!"**

**A few more days after that. "Hi! It's me wanting to talk again. I wish I could go back to Yokohama. I love Tori's place, but Yokohama…" A sigh. "We're all feeling pretty homesick right now. I bet you miss your home too. Did you know I went to a college in the United States? I went there for the easy classes, but, man, was I homesick! Well, call back soon. I'd love to hear from you."**

**A week after that. "Hey, what's going on? How come I haven't heard from you? I know you're busy, but you could at least call during lunch or on your way to another class. Aiden's also busy, but he manages to call Ryo while he's on his way to another building. They only talk 'bout three minutes and don't say much, but at least Ryo knows Aiden's thinking about him."**

*********

**Tori's message on the answering machine, "Um, hi, Kento. Haven't heard from you in a while and wondering how you're doing. I got another story published. I don't think Rowen liked it. He always wants me to watch baseball with him. Did you know professional baseball players have to be on a college baseball team first? Rowen's favorite team is Hanshin. He likes to insult the Kyodai team. I'm not sure why… I'm glad our armor spirits have come back. Zaji is always running all over the house, and they catch him before he gets into trouble. Zaji talks too fast for any of us to understand him, but I can tell it's intelligent babble."**

**At this point, Kento-kun picked up the phone, "Hi, Tori."**

"**Hi, Kento!"**

"**You say Zaji's pretty smart?"**

"**Yup! He loves pointing out all the names of the things he sees. A day or so ago, he grabbed a trinket box and started explaining all the symbols and shapes and patterns. I guess he knew this stuff all along, but he couldn't tell us what he knew 'cause he wasn't able to speak or walk properly. Oh, hey, there's someone who wants to speak with you."**

**And then, Kento-sama's voice was heard over the phone, "Hey, what's up?"**

**His namesake stuttered, "Well, uh, ah… Nothing much is going on at all."**

"**Even with all that class work? I keep hearing that you like to be busy."**

"**An education is very important to a person's success."**

**Kento-sama chuckled, "It's strange. You sounded just like Rowen there. Actually, you sounded like someone else I know…"**

"**Well, I was studying when Tori called. He wanted to talk about Zaji."**

"**Yeah, the little tyke's certainly keeping my friends busy. Taking care of him is nothing, though, compared to having six kids of my own. Kousei and me thought about having more, but Jari was twelve years older than our youngest, and we didn't like the idea of a bigger age gap."**

"**Um… well, I need to get back to studying. I have a test next week, and –"**

"**Hey, it's Monday! Can you study later? I've been waiting weeks to talk to you."**

"**Well… keeping up with all these grades is difficult. I don't even talk to Tori that much."**

**Kento-sama sighed, "Alright. Have fun!"**

**And then, Kento-kun hung up the phone in disbelief. Did his great-grandfather really try to convince him to slack off on his education? Then, he thought with strange amusement: Did his grandmother really want to marry into the Rei Faun family?**

*********

"**Tori, you do have a great mind and a brilliant intellect, but I do not see it being applied to its fullest, and I am worried about this."**

"**Rowen, I do apply my intellect. Remember how I discovered all the sealed points of power in our first adventure and how I helped out Kento-kun? Also, remember that I discovered that mirrors were being used as weapons to deflect our attacks, and that I knew exactly how to counter them?"**

**Rowen frowned. All those applications involved his duties as a Ronin Warrior. Nothing for himself. "You need to start thinking more about yourself. Think about what your parents would have wanted. I doubt they would have wanted you to waste your talents."**

**Tori's jaw dropped. He immediately appeared ready to cry. His life as he viewed it was not a waste, yet Rowen who he admired and cherished throughout his life certainly seemed to think so.**

**----------------**

**Irritated that Sage mentioned the three things he hated most (the dojo, Miyagi prefecture, and the Date family), Reiji called Kento-kun. "Kento, have you stayed in contact with your armor spirit?"**

"**No, not really. He keeps leaving messages on my answering machine, but I've never called him back. A week ago, he used Tori to talk to me. I hung up as fast as I could."**

"**Kento-sama is your great-grandfather."**

"**We're not blood-related! My grandfather was adopted."**

"**Did your grandfather acknowledge Kento-sama as his father? Did your own father acknowledge him as **_**his**_** grandfather? If so, then you should acknowledge Kento-sama as your great-grandfather, your elder, and your superior. He is worthy of your respect."**

"**Reiji Date, shut up! You oughta speak for yourself. How can you tell me about respect when you hate your entire family history! You hate everything your family believes in. As for me, I'd rather just forget about them and let bygones be bygones."**

**An icy growl. "Because I fail and stumble in my duties does not mean you should abandon your duties entirely! Kento-sama is your great-grandfather, and he deserves your respect! I never ignored my great-grandfather."**

**Kento-kun sighed, defeated. "Alright, next time he calls, I'll talk to him."**

**Reiji felt better after that conversation.**

*********

**Aiden to Ryo over the phone, "Ryo, have you seen White Blaze recently?"**

"**No, have you?"**

"**No. I usually don't unless something strange is happening or unless he finds me strolling through a forest. I thought we might see him since you've returned. Oh, well. I'll probably see him when I return to the Hideosanada residence. He likes to stay there over the winter."**

"**I wonder if White Blaze knows we're even missing in the spirit world. He came by to visit us there a lot. If he comes and sees us missing –"**

**Aiden laughed, "He'll certainly be in for a surprise!"**

**Ryo also laughed. "I guess we'll need to keep on a lookout for him, then."**

"**You're right."**

*********

**The month following the conversation with Reiji was one of the worst in Kento-kun's life. He would listen to the answering machine and feel angry with his great-grandfather yet also guilty for that anger. The man hadn't really done anything wrong, after all. Then, he would pick up the phone to assuage his guilt and feel nauseated and furious all over again. **

**Kento-sama had said, "You have sisters! I remember you said you had an older sister and a twin sister. What's it like to be the youngest? What's it like to have a twin? I was the oldest in my family, and I didn't have a twin."**

**At which point, Kento-kun slammed the phone down into its holder. The phone rang again, and the answering machine picked up with his great-grandfather worrying, "What's wrong? Did something bad happen? Is everything alright?"**

**Those questions prompted Kento-kun to hate himself instead of the elder Kento. He couldn't understand why he loathed his great-grandfather. Then, he thought of Hardrock.**

*********

**Seito to Sai over the phone, "I can't believe Kento-kun is treating Kento-sama that way! I gave him a good talking-to a few days ago. I think everyone lectured him about his behavior. He acted like he had heard what I was saying before."**

**Sai replied, "Everyone's really worried about him."**

"**I don't know what's wrong with him. I know he's had some trouble with his family before, and he doesn't like being a Ronin Warrior, but he… I had talked him over with Aiden, and we both agree he held Kento-sama in high regard. They both have a strong sense of Justice, so I don't know what's wrong."**

**An awkward silence.**

**Seito sighed. "Well, Kento-kun'll prob'ly come over to visit before winter sets in. He always visits Tori, and I don't think he'll stop. I might stop by on my way to Hagi for winter."**

*********

**Sage to Reiji over the phone, "Tori has informed me that 'security days' do not exist near winter, so I can travel freely without identification. I wish to visit Miyagi prefecture before winter. Since everyone is returning home, I assume you will be traveling with Ashida."**

"**Yes, you are correct."**

"**Will your younger brother know who I am?"**

"**No."**

"**Good. Our identities must be kept secret. I will enjoy meeting your younger bother. After I have seen Miyagi, I shall return to the Hashiba residence."**

"**Tori or Aiden can pay for your ride until you meet me. Then, I shall pay for the remainder."**

"**Good. Now, we must find a place for us to meet."**

*********

**Kento paced across the living room. He lost his appetite. "I don't know how to get through to him. Maybe when he comes over here, but if he won't talk to me over the phone, I don't know if he'll talk to me here."**

"**I'm sorry," Tori said, cleaning the kitchen with Sai.**

"**It's not your fault. It's just –" Kento sighed. "When was the last time he talked with his family? I get the feeling that's not a good topic with him."**

"**Um, as far as I know, he hasn't seen them since high school, but I wouldn't know. He might talk to them, but he certainly doesn't talk about them."**

**Kento sighed again. "And nothing went wrong?" He had a good family, his son had a good family, and his grandson probably had a good family, so what was going wrong?**

"**Nope. Not as far as I know. He was angry at not getting the restaurant, but…"**

"**Has he been back to Yokohama?"**

**Tori winced. "He's been back once, but he hates that place. I doubt he'll want to return to Yokohama unless he absolutely has to."**

"**But his mother and older sister live there. Didn't you tell me his older sister got the restaurant?"**

**Tori shrugged. "Yeah, but… I doubt he'll ever visit. When I was worried 'bout whether or not to visit Kuroda-san, he told me its alright not to see him again 'cause he'll never return to Yokohama."**

**All the original warriors stopped in what they were doing and stared at him.**

**Tori said, "I was using an analogy. Two similar yet different circumstances…"**

******* **

**Ryo to Aiden over the phone, "Would you mind if I visited you before you leave? Seito told us we wouldn't be able to talk to each other over the winter, and I'd really like see you again."**

"**I suppose that'll be fine. My brother's coming, and –"**

"**I'd like to meet him too!"**

"**Oh, okay."**

*********

**Hearing a knock on the door, Kento-kun hoped the person wasn't Katsuo. They had passed their exams in their Ronin Legend class, but that man wanted to know and understand more. "There's still next semester," Katsuo had said, "and if Rowen Hashiba didn't have to write and make everything so complicated… we'd only have two or three semesters. Let's be grateful he'd dead and not writing to make things more difficult for us."**

**Kento-kun left his half-packed suitcase and approached the door. "Who is it?"**

"**Reiji Date!"**

**Kento opened the door, letting his comrade enter. "Are you alright, Reiji? You look kinda sick."**

"**I have agreed to let Sage visit." He sat on the couch, leaned his head back, and ran his hands through his hair.**

"**And you're not too happy about that."**

"**He is ignorant of everything Japanese! He is ignorant of Sendai, of Miyagi prefecture, of his family…"**

"**Well, he went away in, um, 2045, wasn't it?"**

**Reiji glared. "His kind – his generation with their antique beliefs – is responsible for modern Miyagi."**

"**Have you wondered that maybe we were better Ronin Warriors before our armor spirits came back to life? I know I'm not being nice to Kento-sama, and you sounded downright volatile towards your family right there. Shouldn't you respect and obey your elders, Reiji?"**

**Reiji's glare deepened, his eyes resembling ice so densely-packed it could shatter. "As I had said, their generation is responsible for our troubles, and if I were to obey my grandparents' wishes, I would kill you for what you are."**

**Offended, Kento wanted to protest, 'I can't believe that. Your grandfather is your armor spirit's son.' Instead, he said, "Listen, I have to get ready to leave. Toriyama's expecting me, and I don't wanna let him down."**


	7. Chapter 7

Due to the pre-winter traffic, Kento-kun arrived at four in the morning. He had a spare key to the Hashiba household and crashed on the couch. He was dimly aware of Rowen being awake but didn't bother to think about him. When he awoke hours later, he smelled coffee and delicious food.

"Morning, Kento!" Lena said, noticing him sit. Kento-sama, the person cooking, glanced at her but resumed his work in front of the stove.

"Morning, Lena. So, you have one semester left?"

"Yup," she poured herself a cup of coffee. "And there's graduation!!!"

"That's good. I still have a few more semesters. I'm thinking about some summer classes. They'd certainly look good on a job application."

Kento-kun heard something from Kento-sama. A snicker? A chuckle? Shock? Nostalgia? "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's just –"

Even though Kento-kun couldn't see his face, he could tell from the tone that the man was smiling. He surveyed the counter and the dining room table. Ryo, Sage, and Sai were at the table and drinking canned juice. Tori and Lena had apparently weaned them off chocolate milk.

Sai suggested, "Would you like to sit down?"

"Yeah, why not." He poured himself a cup of coffee first, which was bitter and strong enough to awaken Rowen. "I can't believe you guys quit drinking the flavored coffee. Is there any way to make this taste better?"

Lena said, "There's creamer in the fridge."

"Thanks. Where's Tori?"

"Trying to get Rowen up to drink this coffee."

Kento-kun sat at the table and looked at his cup.

Ryo asked, "What're you planning for the winter?"

"Hibernate." At that statement, the originals laughed.

Kento-sama told Lena to inform Tori and Rowen that breakfast was ready. Then, he began placing bowls and chopsticks in front of everyone. Kento-kun started to eat.

"Do you like it?" Kento-sama asked.

"Yeah, it's alright." Actually, it was better than Tori's cooking.

"Family recipe."

"I know."

Kento-sama sat next to him and proceeded to reminisce about Jari.

"Is he your favorite son or something?"

"He's your grandpa. Wouldn't you like to hear about him?"

Fortunately, before he could have time for a response, Tori entered and cheered out his name.

"Hey, Tori. There's stuff for you in the small bag."

The chubby purple-haired man found the bag in front of the couch and quickly pulled out its contents as Rowen stumbled in, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. "Cool!" Tori exclaimed, "Thanks!"

Kento-sama wondered, "What is it?"

Tori replied, "All of his old textbooks and workbooks. All the advanced courses. There's biology, and chemistry, and history, and physics, and life theories." He stopped before he could ramble too much.

Kento-sama smirked and said to his namesake, "So, your grandmother got to ya, didn't she?"

His namesake jumped in his chair. "What do you mean?!"

"Well, your grandmother was always trying to put a book in your father's hands, trying to get him to be a nerd. She wanted one of the smartest sons a mom could have, but me an' Jari kept him interested in sports and other stuff. After I went away, I bet she focused all her attention on you."

"Well, ah –" Memories suddenly floated to the front of his mind. His grandmother saying, 'Keep on studying' and 'Tell me what you learned today' and sometimes when he had asked for certain toys or candies, she would tell his parents, 'Why not let him get what he wants? He deserves it after working so hard to be at the head of his class.'

Kento-kun stood up, dumped the rest of his breakfast into the trash (reminded him too much of his grandfather's cooking), and then leaned into Kento-sama's face to say, "Did I ask anything from you?! No. I'm just here to see Toriyama. I don't want anything to do with you, so leave me alone." He then stormed out of the house.

* * *

Sage followed, leaving his friend furious and distraught. He found his friend's namesake sulking outside. "You should apologize for the way you have mistreated him. He has shown you only kindness, and you have abused him at every chance you get. He deserves an apology. A genuine apology."

"I know."

"If you cannot respect him for his history with the armor, then you should at least respect him to honor your father and your grandparents. They revered him enough to give you his name!"

"…and the armor," he grumbled under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"I have his armor too! And I know how he died! Do you think I wanna die the same way?"

Sage's tone rose sharply, "I also know how he died! I understand better than you how he suffered. I saw his body, and I carried it home for burial." In Sage's eyes was a fierce sense of remorse – remorse at not arriving in time to save his friend. It was an expression that the younger warrior feared Toriyama might have one day. "He knew the risk he faced, and he accepted his duty because he cared for this world. Without him, you wouldn't be alive today. You should honor him for his sacrifice, and, as I had said, if you cannot respect him for giving you the armor, you should respect him out of reverence for your family."

* * *

Kento-kun watched Ryo, Sai, Sage, and Rowen head toward the large cab outside. "You're leaving too, Rowen?"

"Yeah, we decided Tori and Lena need some time by themselves."

"Hm."

An hour after they left, Kento-sama stepped outside. "Hey," he said wearily.

"Hey," his namesake replied with equal weariness.

"Would you like to go for a walk?"

"I guess."

* * *

Waiting at the café near the train stop, Reiji checked his watch and glanced at Sage cautiously. Any minute until Ashida would arrive. He sipped his mint tea and felt grateful that, aside from the standard greeting, he and Sage had said nothing to each other. However, he knew the peace would be destroyed by an innocent and cheerful youth.

"Reiji!" his brother called out, waving.

Sage smiled and immediately analyzed the youth's appearance for any resemblance to himself. The same color blonde hair, but that was it. Ashida was lankier in appearance and had a longer more angular face. His eyes were an opaque, not crystalline, blue. Well, on a second examination, Sage decided he and his two great-grandsons had the same nose, the same shape and distance proportionally from the eyes and mouth.

Reiji introduced Sage, and the young teen wondered, "No family name?"

"That is not important."

"Yeah, alright," Ashida said in a tone which meant he didn't believe him but didn't particularly care either.

Sage observed the brothers. Reiji handed Ashida a small flat box. His eyes seemed to soften and his mouth twitched as though wanting to smile. Ashida opened the present. His expression was bright and vivid. He received a sports jacket. Reiji told him more gifts were being sent to the dojo for him to open there.

Sage asked, "How is the dojo?"

Startled, Ashida stared at him. Reiji set down his cup of mint tea. Ashida replied, "It's fine, I guess."

"…you guess?"

"Well, I haven't talked to my grandparents or anything. I sent my mother a postcard, and she doesn't talk about the dojo, either."

"You must miss it terribly."

Ashida let out a sound like a choked laugh as though the noise came so fast he didn't have time to prepare himself. He glanced at his brother incredulously and then said, "It's only – a dojo. My high school doesn't let its students stay for winter."

"But, hasn't the Date dojo been in your family for generations?"

"Yeah…" He drawled out the word for it to also mean, 'what's your point?'

"And so, either you or Reiji will inherit it after your grandfather passes away." Sage glanced at Reiji. His heir's expression was impassive.

Ashida replied confidently, proudly, "Well, we'll get rid of it, then. We don't need the dojo anymore." He glanced at his brother, who was smiling.

Horrified, Sage grasped the edge of the table to brace himself. For a moment, he thought he stopped breathing. Then, he gasped and said, "That dojo has been in your family for centuries! It's your family heritage, your legacy. You should be proud and honored to –"

"Do you know what swords do, Sage?"

"A sword is beautiful. Proper swordsmanship –"

"Swords are used to kill." Ashida glanced again at Reiji, who was smiling and nodding lightly in approval. "Swords are the most ancient and common form of killing weapon. I don't wanna kill anyone. If you want to take the dojo and teach people how to kill, that's your business."

Sage gasped again and glared at Reiji, now sipping his mint tea contentedly.

They ordered their lunch and waited for the next train to arrive in an hour. Sage understood how Kento had felt during his troubles with his heir - frustrated, distraught, mournful, yet uncertain.

Once they received their lunch, Sage said, "A proper swordsman does not kill for the sake of killing. A proper swordsman kills when he has no other recourse."

Reiji spoke up, "Sage forgets that in Sendai, it is an honor to slaughter an innocent."

Ashida nodded.

Sage exclaimed, "That should NEVER be an honor!"

Ashida laughed.

* * *

Kento-sama sighed as he and his namesake walked down another lengthy street. "I get the feeling it's difficult for you to talk 'bout your family. I don't mean to bother you, but it's just – I really wanna hear about them."

"Well…"

"And if things have been too bad with you an' your sisters… well, I won't understand, but –"

"What?" The younger Kento stopped walking.

Kento-sama frowned and sighed.

"What do you mean 'too bad'?"

"Well, I've gotten the feeling that you don't want much to do with your family. I don't know what all went wrong, and I won't understand, but –"

His namesake stuttered at first, "Do you – do you think – do you think I've disowned my sisters?"

"I've… gotten that impression, yeah."

His namesake clenched his fists and took several deep breaths before saying, "What makes you think that!?"

"You never visit Yokohama, and you hung up on me when I was asking 'bout them, and Yuli said you're not interested in your family."

His namesake gaped in shock. "You've…" he gasped through clenched teeth. "You've just insulted me. I've been to Yokohama. Once. I hung up on you because, well, I don't want anything to do with you." He paused and added quickly, "but that doesn't have anything to do with my sisters. And you spoke to Yamano-san!?"

It was now Kento's turn to gape. He dealt with the easier topic first, "I listened to Tori and Yuli over the phone. Yuli didn't realize we were there."

Silent, they resumed walking.

His namesake spoke up, "Listen, every family has problems."

"Mine didn't."

"Well, mine did, but we got over them."

"So, everything's fine with you an' your family?"

"Yeah. What else would you expect out of someone with the name Rei Faun?"

Kento shrugged. A moment later, he said, "I wanna get to know you. I know you have a strong sense of Justice, but-"

His namesake sighed, "It's just you. I don't – I don't like being a Ronin Warrior, and I don't like all this fighting. I'm sorry. I don't exactly mean to take everything out on you, but I don't – I think it's best if we avoid each other."

Kento sighed, "Maybe we should turn back around."

"Okay. And talking 'bout my dad and grandparents – that's not the best topic for me."

"How come Yuli said you're not interested in your family? I wanted to know how many great-grandchildren I had, and he said –"

His namesake wondered, "Well, how many are there?"

"You're one of at least fifty-five."

"At least fifty-five! That's too many cousins for me to keep track of. There's just too many. I came from a small family, and so did my father and mother."

"Alright. So, you've been back to Yokohama once?"

"Yeah."

"What for?"

"My older sister's wedding."

"That's great."

"You really like hearing about them, don't you?"

"Of course!"

"Well, I guess that means we have more in common than the name and armor."

* * *

That early evening, Ryo, Rowen, and Sai sat on a small elegantly-designed couch in Aiden's apartment. They stared nervously at the jars (Indian and Native American designs) on the coffee table and wondered if those were actual jewels covering each one.

"Please, feel free to eat the candies," Aiden said, hurrying to and fro, preparing everything for his brother's arrival.

"What kind of candy is in there?" Ryo wondered.

Sai suggested, "Truffles?"

Rowen opened the carved lid with a diamond on top. Old-fashioned store-bought chocolates.

* * *

Since the train ride would last a couple days, Sage and his errant great-grandsons paid for sleeping quarters. Their small quarters, which they shared, were ten feet by ten feet, almost the size of an American prison cell but cozier. Reiji had given Ashida another present, an expensive collectible action figure, as well as several snacks and manga for the long ride.

"Have you considered," Sage spoke to his heir while Ashida slept, "that you are over-indulging him?"

"No. Do you see how peaceful his slumber is?"

"Yes. Remember, Reiji, that you are his elder brother. He admires you. He follows your advice, implicit or explicit. You are responsible for his well-being."

"I know. That is why I convinced him to attend a school away from Miyagi."

Sage nodded. "You may think you are generous by giving him gifts, but proper behavior is the most important. If you do not teach him how to behave around people, -"

Reiji spoke in an icy growl, "Sage, do not question or doubt what I do. I am the only one who has kept him safe!"

Sage lowered his tone to a fiercer growl, "And you have also taught him to disrespect his ancestry and his family."

"We must not yell or argue here. It could disturb Ashida's sleep."

* * *

Rueben Sanada, Aiden's younger brother, could have easily passed for Ryo's twin. The mouth was a little bigger, and the eyes were a little smaller, but the resemblance was striking. He arrived speaking English and only switched to Japanese under Aiden's instruction.

"I am very happy to see you here, Rueben," Aiden had said.

"Mother and father told me it was either visit my older brother in Japan or assist my older sister at a refugee camp. I had already donated 40, 000 euros to charity. That should have been enough."

Ryo commented, "A generous amount. I wish I had that kinda money to give. Whenever I donated, it was old clothes and spare change. It was very kind of you to give that much."

Rueben wasn't impressed. "Being charitable is the purpose of being a Sanada."

Ryo blinked. Rowen and Sai were giving them odd looks. Did they have to appear identical? "So, um, are you enjoying Japan so far?"

"Yes, I congratulate you on keeping your country clean."

Aiden interrupted by inquiring about Russian literature.

Once that topic had expired, Ryo wondered, "Are you going to tour Japan?"

"I have no interest in battlegrounds."

"There's more to Japan than … battles."

"Is there?"

"Yes, there's the forests, the mountains, the architecture."

Aiden glanced at Rowen and Sai helplessly.

Rueben replied to Ryo, "Every country has wildlife and architecture, but this country erupts into a mass of violence every century."

Rowen spoke up, "This is your country of origin. Your grandfather, Hiroyuki, was born and raised in Japan."

"And he left. Fortunately. I only appear Japanese, but I am 100% Scottish."

* * *

"I can't believe one of my descendents would be like that," Ryo mumbled to himself the next day as he and his friends headed back to the Hashiba residence. "I can't imagine how I influenced my children could have led to Rueben being so…"

Sai suggested, "I suppose it's a side effect of being born wealthy?"

Rowen added, "More factors influence a person than parenting. Besides, every family has its … black sheep. It's not anyone's fault."

Ryo hadn't considered that. "Really?"

"Yeah, it doesn't mean the person's bad. I think my dad counts as one of those because he was an eccentric."

Sai said with good humor, "I guess I also count as a black sheep for my family."

Ryo felt alarmed. "You!?"

"Well, after the divorce, and she got custody, but can't blame anyone there." Not to mention that Yoshio Mouri was born a few months after Sai's second wedding.

"I never thought of you as a bad person at all."

* * *

Sage surveyed the familiar and now dilapidated houses of Sendai. He toured the town alone all day, rented a tattered room at a hotel, and left for the Hashiba household in disgust the following morning. The wonderful neighborhood he had adored was now a slum.

* * *

Seito was able to stay at the Hashiba household for an hour. He let Sai ride his motorcycle. Sai was a natural biker. He then gave Sai one of his Cds to listen to. "We seem to have a lot in common," said Seito, "tea ceremony, bikes, sealife. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." A few days passed until the time felt right for music.

For Sai, the winter seemed to be off to a good start. Or so he thought. Most of his memories of Seito concerned a little toddler, and he was excited to get to know him as an adult, even if through music.

It was 11:00 AM in the morning and rather misty. There was nothing to do. Sage and Rowen worked on a puzzle together. Tori stared at the mist through the window and wondered when he would again see the neighbor's house. Zaji played with toy shapes between the couch and the television. Ryo, Kento and Sai tried flipping through channels but gave up. Nothing was on.

Sai suggested, "I suppose now would be a good time to listen to the CD that Seito gave me."

The others agreed.

Sai hurried into their room and quickly returned with the item in question. "You know, I've been wondering what their lives were like and what type of music they listen to." He opened the CD case as Ryo and Kento came near him to listen closely. Sai waved the CD around while he spoke, "I remember when Seito was two, there was a musical children's program featuring a duck, a squirrel, and a rabbit." He sighed. "Seito could listen to it for hours, bouncing and singing along."

Tori had a bewildered expression. He turned to stare quizzically at Sai, but the former Ronin of Torrent had his back facing him. Sage and Rowen left the table and stood behind the couch. There was a sense of anticipation among the former ronins. Sai placed in the CD.

Within a few seconds, an immense, disjointed blaring tore through the household. Sai jumped in horror. Sage spun around and covered his ears; if anything could produce a migraine, it was this music. Kento's eyes widened and his mouth opened in shock and disbelief. Rowen lowered his head and placed a hand on his forehead to stave off the pain. Zaji began to wail uncontrollably.

Ryo lunged forward and turned off the CD player. There was a brief, embarrassed silence as Tori hurried to grab Zaji and comfort him. Hugging his tearful son, Tori snapped at Sai, "I admire Seito as a Ronin Warrior. He has a great sense of Trust, but I do not want my son exposed to his lifestyle!" Tori then walked off.

Sai lowered his head in shame.

Sage growled, "Have you looked at that CD before?"

"No, I wanted it to be a complete, fun surprise."

"It was not fun!"

Kento grabbed the CD case and opened it. He pulled out the cover booklet. Ryo glanced at some of the pictures and lyrics within the booklet; he lifted a hand to cover his mouth. Kento shook his head, proceeding to examine the contents. Kento left it open at a certain page and handed it to Sai. "He's not two years old, anymore." That was an understatement.

Sai's face became an ashen white. He said indignantly, "he doesn't get it from me!"


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, Katsuo!" Kento-kun called out as the fellow student began to exit the tutorial room. "Are you going somewhere?" He noticed train tickets hanging out of the man's bulging backpack. Lengthy travel was unusual close to winter, and Katsuo had formerly remained in the campus during that dreadful season.

"Yes, Kento, there's a place I want to visit."

"Yeah . . ." he grumbled, rising out of his seat to tidy the place. "Just don't think about the Ronin Legend too hard, Katsuo. I've already drilled you on everything you can know, and Sensei Takawashi doesn't go into that much depth anyway. Just know all the allegorical points in her class, and you'll be fine." After the weeks he spent helping Katsuo, he wanted to ask the fellow student 'where are you going?' however, habitual apathy to casual friendliness prevented that question from coming.

"Do you . . . do you think of it as an allegory?"

Startled and off-guard, Kento-kun stopped organizing papers. How could he answer without revealing all he knew? He replied, "It doesn't matter what I think. It's not my major. I'm only taking that course 'cause it's easy credit points."

When the original warriors first arrived, Tori had been thrilled at having Rowen with him. Toriyama Hashiba decorated his writing office with twenty-five pictures of Rowen. This existed in stark contrast to what the old warriors expected. What the old warriors expected and what was true for the other new warriors was this: none of the other new warriors decorated pictures of their great-grandfathers in their dorms or apartments, and such is the way life goes as it proceeds farther away from the elder generations. The closest any of the new warriors came to beholding a picture of an old warrior was Seito Mouri who carried a picture of him and Sai together in his wallet. If the new warriors wanted to see photographs of their predecessors, they merely needed to return to their families where some pictures were visible on the walls or kept in storage.

Toriyama Hashiba decorated his writing office with twenty-five pictures of Rowen. Kento thought "Wow, the guy really likes him." Sai thought "disturbing." Ryo thought "Rowen got ugly when he got older" and worried about his own appearance when he would finally reach old age. Sage thought "I am impressed by his adoration for his ancestor. However, it does seem excessive" and then wondered how his family viewed himself. Rowen thought "how immature."

Rowen was determined that his great-grandson attend college and become an accomplished and influential national figure. Understanding parent issues, he tried to find ways to accommodate Tori as a parent. Once, Rowen asked, "Did you know Lena's college offers daycare services? And that some of the most renowned people in Japan graduated from the college? And that numerous political, literary, and scientific conventions are held at that same college?"

"Do you wanna go there? I'm sure you'll be the valedictorian."

"Imagine all the accomplishments to be started and achieved there! This college is perfect for a Hashiba!"

Distracted with dealing with all the items Sai and Sage brought in, Tori replied, "Yeah. You'll have to change your last name though 'cause of all the rumors between you and Mia Koji, and you wrote all those Ronin books. Zaji might go there when he's older, or he might choose Tokyo University."

Rowen set his reading materials down and looked at his heir, "Tori . . . this place has a daycare center . . ."

"Yeah . . ."

"And wonderful intellectual conventions . . ."

"Yeah . . ."

"Wouldn't you want to go? These are intellectually-stimulating . . ."

Tori sighed in partial exasperation. The number of grocery bags kept piling up. Fortunately, Sai had carried all the entertainment stuff to the bedroom and Sage began to assist in putting things away. "Rowen, I'm sure you'll be fine. Those conventions aren't until the spring anyway, and you shouldn't need identification."

"Tori, I'm asking you if you want to go."

"What?! Among all those people!?"

"Yes! Among those people!"

"I – I – I don't know. I hate crowds. They scare me."

"Well, you would have to become accustomed to them sooner or later."

Rowen noticed Sage glaring briefly at him cautiously and wondered what he did to upset his friend. For a moment, Rowen worried that his own intellect had withered somewhat. In the two years between Sage's death and his death, he had cast away educational pursuits. Perhaps his mind had atrophied; he hoped not. His mind needed to be at its sharpest for him to convince his heir about the benefits of college.

**************

Sage awoke one night with the strangest feeling he could not describe. His dreams were not troubled but rather weird and confusing. In his meditations at the park, he became aware of how alone and isolated he felt; this never occurred before in meditation. Instead of finding peace, recent bothersome memories resurfaced.

Numerous incidents had occurred at the park as Sage and his friends attempted to reintegrate themselves into modern social life and to reaccustom themselves to being seventeen. Sage and another man, late 20s or early 30s, became involved in a yelling match. The man had said something to Sage which would have been insulting to someone in his 70s; Sage insisted the man show him proper respect. The man took offense at a 17-year-old's haughty attitude, and things degenerated from there with Sage's friends trying to calm them both down and the man feeling more insulted. After the ordeal was over, Sai told his friends that the guy probably thought they were patronizing and manipulative teenagers when in fact, they were behaving perfectly like men past middle age toward a younger man.

And so, Sage awoke thinking of that incident and numerous others. He noticed a light in the room and saw Rowen sitting in a corner and reading with a lamp on where the blue-haired man wouldn't bother his friends. Sage wondered why Rowen wasn't in the living room. Rowen assumed this and said, "Tori's awake."

Sage sighed. He recalled first entering Tori's home and his difficulties with the new minor inventions – the non-aluminum cans and having to drink chocolate milk. Sage's grandfather never let him drink chocolate milk. Sage suddenly felt unreal; was he real? He got up and went into the living room.

Tori was sitting on the couch while drinking – of all the things on Sage's mind – chocolate milk and listening to music via headphones. In an occasional mood of impulsiveness and indulgence, Sage decided to pour himself a glass of the once forbidden and childish beverage. He sat next to Tori.

The purple-haired man pulled down his headphones and asked, "Did you have bad dreams? You usually sleep all night."

"I suppose so, yes."

"I get terrible nightmares sometimes. This is actually how I cope."

"…By drinking chocolate milk and listening to music? I remember I bought a CD from that same band for my grandson's third or fourth birthday."

"It's a group I used to listen to before my parents died. It reminds me of before I had any troubles like the armor or anything. I doubt it's what Rowen does, but it makes me feel better. I don't do any of the things Rowen does."

"Everyone must find a way to cope. To be honest, I did have frequent nightmares after becoming a Ronin. Sometimes I had trouble meditating then, so I practiced with my swords or played my flute."

"What was your dream about?"

"I don't know how to describe it. I woke up thinking about all the things my grandfather never allowed me to do as a child, and somehow that thought seemed to be enough of a reason for me to pour myself this drink."

"Your grandfather never let you drink chocolate milk?"

"No. He never let me do many of the things other children had done." Sage felt giddy and – for lack of a better term – out of himself.

"If you want to, there are straws in the drawer underneath the glasses. It's always fun to blow bubbles in chocolate milk."

Sage did just that, feeling like a seven-year-old who always wanted to rebel against his strict grandfather. He laughed openly and then apologized for his atypical behavior. In a way, he felt disconnected from who and what he had been in the past.

"That's alright. What you're experiencing is probably normal for someone in your situation. It's a defense mechanism against severe stress when you became detached from certain thoughts and feelings. I figure you, and Ryo, Kento-sama, Sai, and Rowen are experiencing this because you're cut off from your pasts, and the society and environment. As a result, you're also experiencing a lack of inhibition since you're disconnected from all social mores that defined your life. This is also experienced in varying degrees by college students who move away from home, people who join the military, people who move to a foreign country… All those people also have to redefine themselves."

"Tori…" Sage interrupted tersely. He paused for a moment to recollect his thoughts and said in response to Tori's patient stare, "You're very different from what I expected. If you don't mind, I would like to drink this chocolate milk in peace."

****************

The day following a snowstorm, Toriyama Hashiba checked the news articles online. He had fallen behind in his reading over the past few weeks due to a variety of reasons – preparing for winter, tending to a toddler, etc. One article "A Ghost in the Ruins" caught his attention. The article read:

"Numerous scientists investigating the ruins of reflective black crystal this year have reported hearing the voice of a female throughout the ruins."

The article then went into vague details about the ruins and who might have constructed it. The scientists and archeologists could not agree upon if the indistinct ghostly voice was a girl or a woman, but they agreed the voice was definitely female. The article then digressed into a topic about the ancestral inhabitants of Japan, the Jomon era, the Utari/Ainu, various peoples who could have migrated to the islands from mainland Asia. At that point, Tori lost interest in the article. He knew it would not reveal any significant information about the ruins of reflective black crystal; the article was merely an anecdote to remind people of the ruins' existence.

*************

Overwhelmed with satisfaction, Katsuo entered the antediluvian temple of reflective black crystal. He did not plan to summon anything from the Armor World, not with his last failure – who knows what happened – and not without any idea of how to correct the summoning problem. Kento Rei Faun II could only help him so far while remaining ignorant about the application of such help. Katsuo considered Kento's standoffish demeanor and believed it best to keep him ignorant.

"Of course, Kento came from a more affluent family," Katsuo said to himself as he examined various crystals. "He believes solid hard work can solve all problems. Solid hard work toward what?"

Katsuo sighed, grabbing a small crystal and tugging on it. It felt loose. He remembered one old friend who went to college and had actually complained about the unexpected happiness found in a safe environment. "I hadn't known how miserable our lives were until I left. I don't know what to do," said that friend before committing suicide.

After placing the small reflective black crystal in his bag, Katsuo found a little cluster of similar fallen crystals. "Kento thinks because he's been through hard times because his parents are immigrants! Oh, maybe one or two major incidents. I don't doubt he's suffered, but not every day! Not with shouting and beating and …"

Without warning, a feminine voice interrupted his thoughts. Katsuo spun around to see a little red-haired girl staring plaintively at him.

The girl asked, "Are you the one who disturbed the Armor World?"

"I cast a spell…" Katsuo replied, too startled to think of why he should respond at all let alone why/how a child came to enter the temple and to know about his presence.

"The World of the Armors is a dangerous place."

"And this world is also dangerous." Katsuo straightened his posture from his crouching position where he had gathered the black crystals.

"In my youth, I had experienced a terrible loss. The loss and my grief were so terrible that I wanted to destroy my own soul. To do that, I had also tried to access the Armor World, but the Ronin Warriors came and helped me to see beyond my suffering."

Katsuo took a deep breath. "How noble of them. I had a friend who also tried to help me through my troubles."

"So, now you see how pointless it is to access the Armor World? The Ronin Warriors' compassion-"

Katsuo's eyes widened in a mocking glare.

The red-haired girl paused. "What's wrong? This temple must be hidden! This temple is too dangerous for mortals to enter."

"Your dress is old-fashioned, Edo maybe Meiji era. I assume you're a spirit from that era. Do you know what is happening to Japan? The compassion is being bled out!"

For a brief moment, there was silence as the two stared at each other. Then, the red-haired girl said, "The Ronin Warriors can help you to overcome your suffering."

Katsuo wanted to laugh. "I don't suffer. Ever since I've left Miyagi, I've led a perfectly happy life. I can continue living pleasantly. Like I've said, the compassion is being bled out of Japan. There is too much suffering, and people tire of it, and people quit caring for others. Should humans live like that? Should children be born to suffer and to lose the humanity they were born with?"

This time the red-haired girl did not have a ready reply. After a lengthy silence, she watched the young man resume gathering the small reflective black crystals that had broken loose from their foundation. She worried that perhaps people were abandoning all sense of compassion. If this were indeed occurring, then the Ronin Warriors would be victims of this as well. Contemplating the youth's activities, a conflict between him and the Ronin Warriors appeared inevitable. Upon such an encounter, they could lead to humanity's destruction or humanity's salvation. She felt a need to communicate with them, either to warn them about this youth or to prepare them for their upcoming decision whatever that may be.

She considered briefly contacting the previous Ronin Warriors, but since they were spirits and not a part of this new Japan, they were ill-informed and would not be able to give proper advice. No, best to leave the old Warriors out of this. After all, they were no longer Ronin Warriors.

***************************

Toriyama Hashiba opened his eyes and awakened to the sound and smell of cars hurrying down the city street. "What am I doing here?" he wondered aloud. The last thing he remembered was laying peacefully next to Lena. He stood up from his cross-legged sitting position and realized he was dressed in his archery outfit. What happened to his pajamas?

He surveyed the activity and sensed the air. Air always felt different depending upon the time of day. It was the late-day rush hour. But if he had been absent that long, certainly Lena and the others would be searching for him. The buildings, cars, and clothing appeared to be outdated. Ten or twenty years outdated.

"This isn't possible, is it?" He recognized those buildings. His parents drove that route every day, and they took him to work with them. If this was his dead parents' route, and if this was ten or twenty… no, it would be fifteen or twenty years ago. His parents died fifteen years ago when he was six.

Tori saw their silver car drive by. His parents' car. Intrigued and perplexed, he smiled nonetheless at the familiar sight. He remembered helping them to wash and wax it. Without warning, an old beat-up car lost control; the brakes went out; it crashed into the silver car, sent it spiraling into another lane where two more cars, unable to stop in time, also crashed into it. The impact smashed the sides, particularly the front, and flipped it onto its back.

Screaming for people to help, Tori ran to the car. He bent down to look inside and quickly examine the damage. There was blood everywhere. Tori raised a hand to his mouth. He had no memories of the accident except the sound and the force. In his mind, the crash had been bloodless and his parents had left him exactly as they were before. This was not the case. His father was obviously dead in a bloody mess; his mother's legs were shattered from the front of the car pressed into them. His mother would die from shock at the hospital.

Tears began to fall. He reached out a hand to touch his mother's face, but he withdrew it nervously. "This is only the past. There is nothing I can do." He had long since reconciled with his parents' dead, but who brought him here to witness it again?

Then, Tori saw his younger self unconscious in the back of the car. Not even a scratch. "I always assumed Rowen and the armor saved me." He was wrong. "I liked to sit in the middle seat, and I was too small for most of the damage to reach me." Pure coincidence.

Chimes replaced the expected sounds of the city street. There were no ambulances, no motors, no people yelling. Tori stood up. Everything had stopped, but the chimes continued their ancient sound.

"Who's there?"

A woman's voice flowed through the air: "You lost your parents tragically at such a young age. I understand. I sympathize."

A spirit! Not knowing where the voice originated, Tori crossed his arms, stared, and the wreckage, and raised his tone, "I accepted the past a long time ago. I plan to meet them again some day, but not today."

The scene suddenly shifted to the hospital. His six-year-old self waited in a patient's room. A man with spindly malformed legs entered in a wheelchair. The man was Kuroda-san who raised him for the rest of his life.

The unseen woman's voice spoke again, "Rowen needed an heir."

"Yeah."

"Rowen needed an heir, and the Strata armor must be kept safe."

Tori nodded. He knew all this already. Duh!

"The armors were very important - so important that Rowen and your parents were willing to sacrifice your childhood for it. They cared nothing for your happiness or your well-being."

So, this unseen spirit was trying to manipulate him with his past and his memories. Well, they were Tori's memories; he could also play her game. Tori took control and shifted the scene to his old bedroom at nighttime. His mother tucked him in and kissed his cheek. Then, there was another scene where he and his parents played games together.

Tori took a deep breath. Sadness and melancholy filled his heart. "You're lying, spirit. My parents obviously loved me."

"And then, after they died, you received no more love."

The scene shifted back again to the hospital. The man in the wheelchair glared confrontationally at the six-year-old.

"Tell me, Tori of Strata, who is this man?"

"Kuroda-san, one of my father's co-workers."

"Why did your parents entrust you to his man?"

Tori scowled, hating the answer. "They needed someone they could trust with the Strata armor. Kuroda-san was the only one they trusted with the legend."

"Did he care about children? Did he want children?"

"No."

"And thus, your childhood was sacrificed to the armor."

Tori closed his eyes. Kuroda-san had no patience or tolerance for his six-year-old responsibility or for young Tori at any age. There were no compassionate words, no games, no happiness. It was disinterest and indifference. For the first year or two, Kuroda-san kept him locked in his room because he did not want the child to break anything. He was fed, clothed, kept healthy, but little else. Circumstances forced him to abandon all his friends. Tori already had a sizeable appetite for knowledge and a reading level well-advanced for his age. His knowledge continued to increase.

The scene changed again. There were sounds of battle. Tori shuddered. He chose not to think about the scene; he would wait until he had all the information. He turned around and saw himself battling Anil's soldiers. The demons responsible for the downfall of the first Ronin Warriors - who forced Ryo to sacrifice himself and who murdered Kento-sama - would never stop their need for vengeance.

This new bloody scene filled him with dread. Tori saw that his image was losing against Anil's forces. It mirrored reality too well. When the second generation went against the full might of his army, it resulted in the bloodiest and most devastating onslaught ever. In a desperate attempt to save his comrades, Tori came so close to death that it took Rowen three days to heal him afterward.

Tori's mirror-self was losing in this battle. He saw himself collapse and die. Then, an image of Zaji - six years old - ran forward screaming to the body of his dead father. Tori swallowed a painful lump in his throat. 'she is manipulating me,' Tori thought. It did not change the emotions he felt at the sight, but it prevented them from affecting his mind.

He saw the image-demons carry away the still-wailing image of Zaji. The spirit asked, "This is your worst fear. Will his childhood be sacrificed because of the armors?"

Tori turned around. He wished he could see her and confront her personally. "Spirit, why are you showing this to me? It makes no sense."

But the spirit was gone, and Tori soon awoke next to Lena.


End file.
